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Divisioa      TB^X 
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iM annals;  of  iFaitl)  anti  Dutp. 

EDITED    BY    REV.  J.   S.  CANTWELL,   D.D. 


A  SERIES  of  short  books  in  exposition  of  prominent  teachings 
of  the  Universalist  Church,  and  the  moral  and  religious 
obligations  of  believers. .  They  are  prepared  by  writers  selected  for 
their  ability  to  present  in  brief  compass  an  instructive  and  helpful 
Manual  on  the  subject  undertaken.  The  volumes  will  be  affirmative 
and  constructive  in  statement,  avoiding  controversy,  while  specifically 
unfolding  doctrines. 

The  Manuals  of  Faith  and  Duty  are  issued  at  intervals  of 
three  or  four  months.     Uniform  in  size,  style,  and  price. 

I.     THE  FATHERHOOD   OF   GOD. 

By  Rev.  J.  Coleman  Adams,  D.D.,  Chicago. 

II.    JESUS  THE   CHRIST. 
By  Rev.  S.  Crane,  D.D.,  Norwalk,  O. 

III.    REVELATION. 

By  Rev.  I.  M.  Atvjtood,  D.D.,  President  of  the  Theological 

School,  Canton,  N,  Y. 

IV.     CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

By  Rev.  Warren  S.  Woodbridge,  Medford,  Mass. 

V.     SALVATION. 

By  Rev.  Orello  Cone,  D.D.,  President  of  Buchtel  College, 
Akron,  O. 

VI.    THE  BIRTH  FROM  ABOVE. 

By  Rev.  Charles  Follen  Lee,  Charlestown,  Mass. 

No.  VII.  of  this  series  will  be  "  The  Saviour  of  the  World," 
by  Rev.  C.  E.  Nash,  Akron,  O.  Other  volumes  and  writers  will 
be  announced  hereafter.        

published  by  the 

Universalist  Publishing  House, 

BOSTON,    MASS. 
Western  Branch:    69  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 


iWanuals  of  JFaitlj  anti  iBut 


No.  IV. 


OCT  13  1920 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 


BY 


REV.  WARREN  S,  WOODBRIDGE. 


I  AM   COME  THAT  THEY  MIGHT  HAVE  LIFE,   AND  THAT  THEY 
MIGHT  HAVE  IT  MORE  ABUNDANTLY." 

John  X.  10. 


BOSTON : 

UNIVERSALIST  PUBLISHING   HOUSE. 
1890. 


Copyright,  1889, 
By  the  Universalist  Publishing  House. 


SECOND   EDITION. 


John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


CONTENTS. 


Section  Page 

I.  Historical  Reality  or  the  Christ   ...  6 

II.  Hindrances  to  Christ's  Work  in  the  Life  8 

III.  The  Antichrists  of  Society  and  the  Age  14 

IV.  Helpful  Instrumentalities.  —  The  Bible  22 
V.    The  Help  of  Meditation 24 

VI.    The  Value  of  Prayer 26 

VII.    The  Aid  of  Eamily  Worship 31 

VIII.    The  Church  the  Great  Help 35 

IX.  Our  Contact  with  the  Christ     ....  41 

X.    Christian  Growth 50 

XI.    Results  in  the  Individual 55 

XII.    Results  in  Society 63 

XIII.  Results  in  the  Creation  of  God      ...  67 

XIV.  Tests  of  the  Christian  Life 72 

XV.  Incentives  to  the  Christian  Life    ...  80 

XVI.  Rewards  of  the  Christian  Life   ....  85 

Conclusion 91 


^  bital  force  lies  back  of  all  tjjc  grointfj  of 
fjuman  cijaractcr,  as  it  lies  feack  of  all  ijroiriti^  of 
i\)z  external  inorlti,  3[nti  as  tlje  countless  lilies 
of  i])z  fielti  confess  to  one  common,  per&atiins  faital 
force,  so  tlje  leaties  of  tlje  tree  of  life,  tlje  brancj^es 
of  tfje  true  bine,  are  tfje  organic  outgrototj)  of  t\)z 
same  principle,  E\}iQ  common,  perbatJing  life  is 
Christ, 

Prof.  J.  L.  Diman. 


CHEIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 


THE  theme  assigned  to  this  number  of  the 
"  Manuals  of  Faith  and  Duty  "  has  definite 
limits.  Of  necessity  each  writer  is  confined  to 
the  most  condensed  treatment  of  a  particular 
phase  of  Christian  faith  and  duty.  The  object 
of  this  volume  is  to  exhibit  Christ  in  the  life 
of  man.  In  the  treatment  two  courses  are  open. 
One  might  attempt  an  exhaustive  and  profound 
essay  from  a  metaphysical  standpoint,  dealing 
with  the  deeper  problems  of  the  soul ;  or  he 
might  sketch  the  workings  of  Christ  in  the  life 
in  their  more  external  aspects,  keeping  all  the 
time  near  the  daily  walk  and  conversation  of 
men.  To  adopt  either  one  of  these  methods 
exclusively,  would  be  to  fail  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  book.  It  is  not  designed  to  be  a 
metaphysical  essay,  and  yet  it  is  hoped  it  will 


6  CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE. 

not  prove  a  superficial  treatment  of  the  theme. 
The  great  aim,  however,  will  be  to  be  practical. 
The  governing  purpose  will  be  to  make  helpful 
suggestions.  The  movement  will  be  along  famil- 
iar lines.  The  intent  is  ever  to  keep  close  to 
the  life  of  men,  and  to  point  the  way  by  which 
the  Christ  life  may  be  brought  more  abundantly 
into  human  hearts. 

T.  —  Historical  Reality  of  the  Christ. 

We  must  be  impressed,  first  of  all,  with  the 
fact  that  the  Christ  is.  We  have  had  already 
in  this  series  a  volume  on  "  Jesus  the  Christ,"  — 
a  statement  of  what  He  is.^  For  the  purpose 
of  this  volume  w^e  only  ask  that  the  fact  that 
the  Christ  is  be  laid  hold  upon.  Some  say,  the 
Christ  has  been.  Some  say.  He  is  yet  to  come 
in  His  greatest  power.  His  existence  is  not 
only  a  past  fact,  but  a  present  one.  We  have 
full  knowledge  of  the  Christ  from  the  New  Tes- 
tament record.  The  story  is  inspiring.  We  may 
and  do  feed  upon  it.  We  have  also  knowledge 
of  the  Christ  in  Christian  institutions.  The 
Church  bears  witness  of  the  Christ.     The  Lord's 

1  Manuals  of  Faith  and  Duty,  No.  II.,  by  Rev.  Stephen 
Crane,  D.D. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  7 

Supper  testifies  of  Him.  The  book,  then,  is  not 
all.  Nor  is  the  Christ's  life  confined  to  three 
decades  of  the  world's  history.  The  Christ,  in 
Christian  institutions  and  in  spirit,  continues 
to  be  in  the  life  of  the  world.  We  must  not 
make  Him  remote  and  unreal.  He  speaks  not 
only  the  Palestinian  word,  which  comes  full  of 
life  down  the  ages,  but  He  also  speaks  into  the 
hearts  and  souls  of  men  in  this  hour.  This  is 
the  "  age  to  come,"  the  era  of  the  Christ.  It 
now  is  the  time  which  floated  before  the  vision 
of  the  prophet,  as  with  uplifted  soul  he  was  im- 
pressed with  divine  truth.  It  is  the  "  great  and 
notable  day  of  the  Lord."  "  A  king  reigns  and 
prospers,  and  executes  justice  and  judgment  in 
the  earth."  ^  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  hath 
rested "  upon  one,  "  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might, 
the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the 
Lord."  2  The  one  anointed  "  to  preach  good 
tidings  unto  the  meek,"  sent  "'to  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives, and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that 
are  bound;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ; 

1  Jeremiah  xxiii.  5.  ^  Isaiah  xi.  2. 


8  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

to  comfort  all  that  mourn,"  ^ — this  one  has  come 
and-  is  with  us.  Though  in  bodily  and  visible 
presence  His  days  on  earth  were  few,  and  we 
are  separated  from  that  period  by  the  inter- 
vening centuries,  yet  in  a  most  deep  and  prac- 
tical sense  we  ought  to  say  and  feel  that  He 
18,  and  not  that  He  has  been.  We  do  not  want 
to  look  across  the  gulf  of  years.  We  want  the 
Christ  with  us  here  and  now.  This  is  the  era 
of  the  Christ.  "It  is  the  last  time." 2  The  age 
to  come  has  come ;  and  there  is  no  other  age 
provided  for  in  the  economy  of  God,  or  revealed 
in  His  word. 

n. — Hindrances  to  Christ's  Work  in 
THE  Life. 

But  there  are  hindrances  to  Christ's  work  in 
the  life.  There  are  antichrists.  Though  the 
Christ  is.  He  may  not  have  entered  your  heart 
or  mine ;  He  may  not  have  touched  our  lives ; 
He  may  not  have  reached  us  witli  His  help  and 
power.  Current  theology  has  it  that  we  are 
fallen  in  Adam,  prone  to  evil,  averse  to  good. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  a  hereditary  taint,  of  an 
existent  moral  corruption  and  tendency  to  evil. 

1  Isaiali  Ixi.  1-3.  2  1  John  ii.  18. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  9 

The  Gospel  sums  up  these  tendencies,  and  calls 
them,  in  one  comprehensive  term,  "  the  world ; " 
no  doubt  because  in  fact  there  was  in  Christ 
and  the  disciples  a  spirit  and  life  sharply  con- 
trasted with  the  spirit  and  life  of  all  the  world 
beside.  This  same  tendency  is  called  in  the 
individual  "the  flesh."  The  evil,  sinful  life  is 
the  carnal,  the  fleshly  life.  And,  further,  this 
proneness  to  evil  is  projected  into  another  form, 
is  personilied  and  called  "the  devil."  "The 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil"  are  one  and 
the  same  thing  in  different  aspects.  They  are 
names  for  all  corruption  or  corrupting  influ- 
ences, viewed  now  as  one  whole  existent  in  the 
world  and  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  Christ,  now 
as  working  in  the  individual  life,  and  again 
vividly  as  having  a  separate  and  personal  being 
and  name.  We  have  not  yet  reached  a  point 
where  we  may  drop  the  terms  "  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil."  These  words  have  not  lost 
their  original  force,  nor  have  the  tendencies  for 
which  they  stand  ceased  to  be.  The  roots  of 
sin  are  the  same  in  all  ages.  The  occasions  of 
sin  vary  with  the  times. 

What  are  the  corrupting  tendencies  of  to-day  ? 
What  do  we  find  when  we  make  search  for  the 


10  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

things  that  are  opposed  to  the  Christ,  and  keep 
His  spirit  out  of  our  lives  ?  Saint  John  tersely 
defined  sin  as  "  the  transgression  of  the  law."  ^ 
We  want  to  know  something  of  the  temptations, 
the  motives,  the  inducements  that  invite  to  the 
transgression  of  the  law.  The  question  presents 
itself  in  practical  form  in  this  wise :  Why  is 
there  so  large  a  proportion  of  grasping  selfish- 
ness, so  much  indirection  and  dishonesty,  so 
much  that  is  brutal  and  repulsive  and  unlovely 
in  life  ?  What  hinders  the  coming  in  of  those 
graces  and  virtues  of  the  Christian  life,  so  ad- 
mirable and  so  attractive  ?  As  we  look  for  an 
answer  we  shall  find  the  causes  partly  in  the 
already  corrupted  and  weakened  spirit  of  man, 
and  partly  in  the  outward  circumstances  that 
minister  to  his  depravity. 

Man  is,  as  theology  has  said,  "  prone  to  evil." 
He  is  also,  as  theology  has  neglected  to  say, 
prone  to  good;  that  is,  he  is  a  free  and  finite 
being,  with  mixed  motives  and  an  imperfect 
character.  He  has  power  to  choose  the  evil, 
and  power  to  choose  the  good.  Of  himself  he 
stands  ever  at  the  parting  of  two  roads.  He 
may  take  the  strait  and  narrow  path  that  leads 

1  1  John  iii.  4. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  11 

to  life,  or  the  broad  way  that  leads  to  moral 
ruin.  Each  passing  day  opens  such  an  oppor- 
tunity, offers  such  a  privilege,  brings  such  a 
responsibility.  The  decision  of  this  hour  has 
an  effect  upon  the  decision  of  the  next.  The 
choice  of  the  right  to-day  makes  easier  and 
more  likely  the  choice  of  the  right  to-morrow. 
The  choice  of  the  wrong  to-day  makes  easier  and 
more  likely  the  choice  of  the  wrong  to-morrow. 
Each  repetition  of  right  choice  intrenches  one 
against  wrong  choice.  Each  repetition  of  wrong 
choice  intrenches  one  against  right  choice. 
And  were  it  not  for  God  and  His  ministration 
through  Christ,  one  might  become  hopelessly 
fixed  in  the  love  and  choice  of  evil.  Under  the 
working  of  this  divine  law,  we  find  ourselves  in 
the  condition  which  Saint  Paul  so  vividly  de- 
scribes. Will  is  weakened ;  motive  is  wanting. 
It  is  easiest  to  choose  the  wrong.  We  have  to 
struggle  against  the  weakness  caused  either  by 
our  own  habit  or  the  habit  of  our  ancestry. 
When  we  are  in  such  condition,  when  we  more 
easily  and  more  often  choose  the  wrong,  we  can 
say  with  Saint  Paul,  "  Sin  dwelleth  in  me."  ^ 
We  then  find  a  law  that  when  we  would  do  good 
1  Romans  vii.  20. 


12  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

evil  is  present  with  us.^  And  when,  in  our  bet- 
ter moments,  we  delight  in  the  law  of  the  Lord, 
and  find  that  other  law  warring  against  the  law 
of  God,  then  it  does  seem  to  be  not  us,  but  sin 
that  dwelleth  in  us,  by  which  we  are  provoked 
to  evil  works.  The  struggle  seems  to  be,  and 
may  well  be  described  as,  a  warfare  between 
ourselves  and  sin;  and  it  does  seem  that  sin 
has  a  strength  and  form  and  existence  of  its 
own.  It  is  in  reality  a  warfare  between  our 
better,  higher  selves  and  ourselves  down  at  the 
lower  levels ;  a  struggle  between  our  nobler  in- 
stincts and  our  baser  passions,  between  our 
higlier  thought  and  conscience  and  our  weak- 
ened will  and  perverted  desire.  The  good  that 
we  would  we  do  not,  but  the  evil  that  we  would 
not  that  we  do.^  Under  this  law  one  may  rise 
or  fall  in  spiritual  life  and  moral  strength. 
One's  resistance  to  evil  may  become  weaker 
and  weaker.  The  struggle  to  human  eyes  may 
seem  altogether  to  have  ceased.  One  may  drop 
below  the  point  of  making  any  contest  against 
sin,  below  the  point  of  appreciating  Saint  PauFs 
meditations.  One  may  so  habitually  choose  the 
evil  and  live  in  it,  that  there  will  be  no  more 

1  Romans  vii.  21.  2  ibid.  vii.  19. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  13 

than  fitful  and  momentary  thoughts  of  the  good ; 
he  may  become  hardened  and  rebellious,  or  ut- 
terly careless  and  indifferent.     This  is  the  aw- 
fulness  of  sin.     "  If  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be 
darkness,  how  great  is  that  darkness !  "  ^     Thus 
is  built  up  the  highest  barrier  against  the  incom- 
ing of  Christ  into  the  heart.     But  it  is  not  insur- 
mountable.    The  infinite  God  out  of  His  infinite 
love  has  sent  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "  to  seek 
and   to  save   that   which  was   lost."  ^     But  we 
need  fully  to  realize  that  every  step  away  from 
the  Christ  counts  one   on   the   return.     Every 
step  downward  means  an  added  measure  to  the 
journey  upward.     And   not   only  so,  but  with 
each  downward    step  we  acquire  a  momentum 
on  the  downward  way.     One  step  away  from  the 
Christ  may  mean  many  more  before  we  can  be 
recalled,  and   multiplied    hardships  on  the  re- 
turn.     This  is  a  fact   of    gravest  importance. 
This  makes  each   moment   a  precious  moment 
and   of  supreme   importance.      It    attaches    to 
every  passing  hour   all   that  splendid  and  aw- 
ful significance  which  current  theology  has  at- 
tached  only  to  one  experience  and   one  crisis 
in  the  life. 

1  Matthew  vi.  23.  2  Luke  xix.  10. 


14  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

The  roots  of  sin,  then,  are  in  the  moral  make- 
up of  man.  Why  he  is  morally  made  up  as  he 
is,  is  not  here  to  be  discussed.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  man's  splendid  gift  of  freedom  involves  a 
great  danger.  We  find  it  true  that  he  has  not 
faced  the  peril  in  safety.  We  find  him  weak 
and  prone  to  err.  We  find  his  moral  weakness 
a  hindrance  to  the  building  up  of  his  life  into 
the  Christlikeness. 

III.  —  The  Antichrists  of  Society  and 
THE  Age. 

Now  we  consider  the  external  phases  of  the 
hindrances  of  the  Christ's  helpful  work  in  the 
life.     What  are  the  occasions  of  sin? 

This  brings  us  into  practical  contact  with  our 
time.  It  leads  us  to  look  at  the  life  of  to-day, 
to  note  what  is  unfavorable  to  the  promotion  of 
Christian  virtue,  what  circumstances  favor  the 
breeding  of  evil,  and  what  invites  the  transgres- 
sion of  the  spiritual  and  moral  law. 

The  inquiry  is  of  such  proportions,  and  our 
space  is  so  limited  that  we  must  sketch  and  con- 
dense, or  make  choice  of  some  phase  of  the  sub- 
ject and  enlarge  upon  that.  We  shall  find  it  more 
profitable  to  neglect  the  more  obvious  occasions 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  15 

of  transgression  which  are  concerned  with  the 
grosser  forms  of  sin.  There  is  scarcely  need 
to  mention  the  nurseries  of  vice  and  crime,  or  to 
tell  the  appalling  story  of  gross  evil  and  wicked- 
ness fostered  in  centres  where  the  vile  and  low 
are  wont  to  congregate.  It  is  enough  to  say 
that  these  horrible  occasions  of  sin  do  exist ; 
that  once  the  will  is  weakened,  once  the  pas- 
sions gain  the  mastery,  once  evil  appetites  are 
aroused,  then  one  has  to  take  but  a  step,  and 
he  will  find  surroundings  which  will  minister  to 
and  foster  all  that  is  low  and  vile  within  him. 
These  things  are  open  to  every  one's  view. 
Upon  them  we  often  dwell.  Rather  should  our 
attention  be  called  to  less  obvious,  more  subtle, 
yet  scarcely  less  dangerous  occasions  of  moral 
weakness.  We  are  making  the  mistake  in  this ' 
age  of  observing  the  moral  disease  of  man  only 
at  its  height;  we  grow  desperate  over  the  last 
stages,  and  you  will  hear  men  crying  out  that 
some  one  great  evil  is  the  cause  of  all  other 
evils ;  we  are  less  concerned  about  the  thousand 
little  things  that  make  possible  the  great  thing ; 
we  are  blind  to  the  conditions  that  lead  to  the 
inception  of  the  disease ;  we  treat  the  disease ; 
we  neojlect  moral  sanitation ;  we  treat  the  fever 


16  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

at  its  height,  in  its  epidemic  rage ;  we  neglect 
the  generally  weakened  condition  of  the  people 
which  made  it  possible  for  the  disease  to  get 
its  hold  ;  we  do  not  take  sufficient  note  of  the 
thousand  contributing  causes  which  7nust  be 
dealt  witJi  before  the  disease  can  be  rooted  out. 

Whatever  the  original  cause  (and  that  is  per- 
haps beyond  our  ken),  it  is  a  fact  that  certain 
of  the  modern  conditions  and  habits,  certain  of 
the  phases  of  modern  civilization,  have  in  them 
the  seeds  of  moral  weakness ;  under  them  with- 
out forethought  and  effort  we  are  bound  to  be- 
come weakened,  and  at  last  must  come  into  such 
condition  that  every  shape  of  moral  disease  can 
fasten  upon  us. 

The  commercial  and  industrial,  the  wealth- 
getting  habit  of  the  age  is  one  of  these  phases. 
A  larger  proportion  of  man's  energy  is  absorbed 
in  these  directions  than  ever  before.  It  is  an 
eminently  materialistic  age.  The  things  of  the 
spirit  have  less  emphasis,  the  things  of  the 
earth  have  more  emphasis,  than  makes  a  goodly 
proportion.  Reach  out  your  hand  indifferently 
to-day,  and  you  will  be  more  apt  to  touch  some- 
thing that  savors  of  the  earth  than  something 
that    savors   of   the   spirit.     The    air    is    more 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  17 

saturated  with  materialistic  than  with  spiritual 
substance.  It  is  easier  to  hear  and  learn  of  the 
factory,  of  the  farm,  of  stocks,  bonds,  ships,  and 
trade,  than  of  honor,  virtue,  and  godliness.  A 
great  wheat-deal  has  a  wider  reach  and  more 
points  of  immediate  contact  with  the  life  of  the 
people  than  the  discussion  in  the  American 
Board  of  the  most  momentous  spiritual  problems. 
We  breathe  in  with  every  breath  the  air  of  the 
shop  and  the  counting-room  ;  only  now  and 
then  comes  a  draught  of  the  spirit  from  the 
Prophets  and  the  Christ.  Our  young  men  grow 
up  in  the  atmosphere  of  trade  ;  the  thoughts 
and  sentiments,  the  ambitions  and  desires,  of  the 
commercial  world  are  their  daily  sustenance  ; 
only  now  and  then  have  they  a  taste  of  the  true 
bread  that  cometh  down  from  Heaven.  Our 
young  women  grow  up  in  secular  surroundings  ; 
their  devotions  are  more  easily  and  naturally 
turned  to  material  things  than  to  the  culture 
of  the  spiritual  life.  The  channels  for  the  out- 
flow of  the  energy  in  secular  directions  open  up 
on  every  hand,  and  are  kept  free  and  attractive ; 
and  into  these  channels  goes  hy  far  the  larger  fro- 
portion  of  the  splendid  strength  of  the  human  soul. 
Another  unpleasant  sign  of  the  secular  and 


18  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

unspiritual  characteristic  of  the  age  appears  in 
the  devotion  of  the  people  to  pure  amusement. 
Hard  work  and  energy-draining  diversion  are 
characteristic  of  the  American  people  ;  recrea- 
tion has  come  to  be  an  added  business.  The 
man  who  in  addition  to  his  regular  occupation 
meets  all  the  demands  of  society  must  be  very 
strong ;  and  if  above  meeting  the  demands  of 
business  and  society  he  would  meet  his  obliga- 
tions to  the  Church,  he  must  be  extraordinarily 
robust.  The  devotion  of  our  people  to  pure 
diversion  is  a  sign  of  the  times.  If  our  average 
village  life  may  be  taken  as  an  epitome  of  the 
life  of  the  people,  there  is  a  feverish  desire  on 
every  hand  for  pure  amusement.  It  is  not  recre- 
ation that  is  sought ;  there  is  no  relation  of  the 
diversion  to  health  and  strength.  The  indulgence 
is  not  temperate  and  helpful ;  it  indicates  an  un- 
balanced and  thoughtless  life.  Amusement  has 
become  the  secondary  occupation  of  our  people, 
having  the  first  and  chief  claim  after  necessary 
labor;  it  uses  up  the  winter  evenings  and  the 
summer  days.  Surely  the  present  style  of  life 
must  sometime  have  an  effect  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  people ;  can  we  not  see  the  begin- 
nings already?     It  must  gradually,  unperceived 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  19 

at  first,  change  tlie  quality  of  the  life  ;  it  must 
have  an  effect  upon  the  physical,  upon  the 
mental,  upon  the  moral,  and  upon  the  spiritual 
fibre  of  man.  Our  young  people  tend  to  grow 
up  with  a  passion  for  pure  diversion.  The 
serious  duties  of  life  are  irksome,  and  are  not 
undertaken  with  courage  and  a  cheerful  spirit. 
The  home  life  suffers.  Children  are  not  educated 
in  the  home  as-  they  ought  to  be ;  they  are  not 
under  influences  that  tend  to  raise  up  sturdy, 
work-loving,  burden-bearing  men  and  women. 
We  need  not  doubt  that  the  coming  generations 
will  be  good  card-players,  graceful  dancers, 
patrons  of  amusement,  and  capable  in  every 
pastime  ;  but  we  have  some  reason  to  be  anxious 
on  the  score  of  the  strength,  the  force  and 
quality  of  character  of  those  who  are  subject  to 
the  prevailing  influences  of  to-day.  Are  we 
producing  a  generation  of  sturdy,  virtue-loving, 
wise,  broad-minded,  generous  men  and  women, 
who  will  take  up  family  cares  with  zest  and 
courage,  who  will  put  strength  of  heart  and 
soul  and  the  vigor  of  strong  nerves  and  a  healthy 
organism  and  an  enduring  Christian  purpose 
into  the  splendid  opportunities  that  everywhere 
confront  the  humblest  child  of  God? 


20  CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE. 

No  word  is  here  written  against  recreation. 
If  space  permitted,  right  here  would  be  an  essay 
on  recreation  which  would  satisfy  the  most  en- 
thusiastic lover  of  any  legitimate  pastime ;  but 
any  sport,  any  amusement,  any  diversion  ceases 
to  be  a  recreation  when  it  acts  as  a  drain  upon 
the  energies,  when  it  exhausts  rather  than  re- 
stores, when  it  is  pursued  with  passionate 
fondness  and  takes  out  of  the  life  more  than 
it  puts  in. 

This  is  a  matter  of  more  importance  than 
many  are  ready  to  admit.  We  are  swinging  too 
far  from  Puritanism.  Like  the  Puritans,  we  are 
overdoing,  but  in  the  opposite  direction.  They 
destroyed  a  part  of  life  by  striking  out  cheer- 
fulness :  we  are  destroying  a  much  more  im- 
portant part  of  life  by  striking  out  seriousness. 
They  were  nobly  equipped  for  the  sterner  tasks  : 
we  are  splendidly  caparisoned  for  the  lighter 
pleasures.  They  frowned  upon  recreation  and 
sport :  we  frown  upon  plodding  earnestness 
and  the  spirit  which  takes  a  downright  grip 
upon  every  serious  problem  and  hardest  task. 
The  prevailing  fondness  for  pastime  and  amuse- 
ment for  their  own  sakes,  and  to  fill  up  the 
hours    so   that    earnestness   shall    not    intrude, 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  21 

drains  off  the  divine  life,  that  is  ever  sent  down 
from  heaven  to  us.  This  current  of  life,  rich  and 
pure,  comes  continually  from  God.  But  at  point 
after  point  in  our  careless  and  indifferent  and 
worldly  life  it  is  conducted  off,  and  dissipated, 
and  in  us  becomes  enfeebled. 

In  these  aspects  of  our  civilization  and  life 
are  presented  very  serious  hindrances  to  the  en- 
trance of  Christ  into  the  human  heart ;  in  these 
shapes  antichrist  appears.  They  are  the  more 
dangerous  because  they  are  not  connected  with 
what  is  in  itself  wrong.  Yet  they  do  have  a 
large  and  an  important  place  in  all  that  con- 
cerns the  spiritual  and  moral  welfare  of  our 
people.  They  are  causes  of  degeneration.  They 
need  to  be  considered.  In  these  dangers  child- 
hood and  youth  are  immersed.  They  are  more 
serious  because  so  little  repulsive.  They  are 
more  threatening  because  everywhere  connected 
with  respectability.  They  touch  the  life  at  every 
point.  They  are  operative  upon  that  large  class 
of  people  who  are  independent  and  intelligent, 
sensible  in  the  main,  law-abiding,  the  .rank  and 
file,  a  substantial  set,  upon  whom  we  look  as  the 
bulwark  of  society,  the  conservators  of  law,  in 
whose  hands  is  largely  the  future  of  our  nation. 


22  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

Surely  anything  which  endangers  the  Christian 
life  of  this  class  needs  quick  attention.  For 
when  this  great  body,  which  is  our  hope,  degen- 
erates, when  it  drops  down  one  grade,  then  in- 
deed is  an  injury  done  to  the  life  of  the  people, 
and  their  welfare  seriously  endangered. 

Against  the  barriers  set  up  by  man's  moral 
weakness  and  by  the  occasions  of  sin  found  in 
the  circumstances  of  his  life,  the  Christ  has  to 
work.  The  aim  of  Christian  effort  is  to  over- 
come these  obstacles  and  bring  Christ  into  the 
life.  We  proceed  to  consider,  in  the  next  five 
sections,  the  instrumentalities  or  means  by 
which  this  work  may  be  done. 

IV.  —  Helpful  Instrumentalities. — The  Bible. 

Roughly  summed  up,  the  means,  or  instrumen- 
talities, or  helps  toward  the  Christian  life  are 
the  Bible,  Meditation,  Prayer,  Family  Worship, 
and  the  Church. 

We  proceed  to  consider,  in  this  section,  the 
Bible.  It  is  a  potent  means  whereby  the 
Christ  may  find  entrance  into  the  life.  We 
need  to  use  it.  It  is  a  chart  of  life.  It  gives 
knowledge  of  the  greatest  events  and  the  grand- 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  23 

est  men  of  the  world's  history.  He  who  is 
familiar  with  the  Bible,  not  verbally  or  with 
detached  texts,  but  with  the  sweep  of  its  his- 
tory, the  progress  and  development  of  its  life,  the 
character  of  its  greatest  men,  is  possessed  of  an 
inexhaustible  store,  whence  may  be  drawn  all 
the  riches  of  life.  He  who  has  learned  to  ap- 
preciate its  poetry,  to  have  an  appetite  for  its 
wisdom,  to  sympathize  with  its  loftiest  spirit,  to 
dwell  admiringly  and  lovingly  with  men  like 
Moses,  like  Isaiah,  like  John,  like  Paul,  like  the 
Christ,  is  feeding  upon  the  meat  that  makes  men 
godlike.  The  Bible  contains  a  record  of  the 
highest  aspirations,  of  the  noblest  thoughts, 
the  sublimest  sentiments.  It  tells  the  story  of 
the  strongest,  purest  life.  It  leads  us  into  the 
presence  of  those  who  have  held  communion 
with  God,  opens  to  our  view  the  life  of  Jesus  the 
Christ.  It  contains  the  annals  of  the  founding 
of  the  Church,  the  precious  letters  of  apostolic 
instruction,  and  the  sublime  apocalypse  of  the 
triumph  and  glory  of  the  Church.  We  must 
make  the  Bible  our  meat  and  drink.  Nowhere 
else  can  we  to  such  purpose  and  so  bountifully 
supply  our  highest  needs.  The  Bible  is  not  first 
to  be  reverenced  and  then  used.     It  is  first  to  be 


24  CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE. 

used  and  then  it  must  be  reverenced.  It  is  not 
to  be  made  a  fetich,  an  object  of  worship.  It  is 
an  instrument,  which  the  Divine  order  has  placed 
within  our  reach.  If  we  use  it,  we  shall  learn  its 
worth,  and  love  it  as  we  love  no  other  book.  It 
is  a  book  to  be  used  not  with  the  critic's  skill 
and  learning,  —  the  order  of  the  history  of  the 
pentateuch,  the  time  of  the  prophets'  writing 
make  little  difference  to  the  searcher  after 
spiritual  food,  —  but  with  an  honest  purpose  and 
an  open  heart ;  a  book  to  bring  to  our  notice  and 
to  enlarge  our  power  of  seeing  those  sublime 
truths  which  are  so  easily  missed  in  our  ordi- 
nary life  ;  a  book  to  awaken  and  develop  those 
finer  qualities  of  heart  and  soul,  which  become 
dulled  in  the  busy  turmoil  and  temptation  of 
daily  living ;  a  book  to  lead  us  into  intimacy 
with  souls  who  have  been  acquainted  with  the 
highest  truth,  who  have  been  pure  and  holy,  nay, 
who  have  walked  with  God ;  and  above  all,  into 
intimacy  with  the  great  Master  of  them  all,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Y.  —  The  Help  of  Meditation. 

Our  reading  of  the  Bible  should   be  supple- 
mented witli   meditation.     This   is    a  means   of 


CHRIST  IN   THE  LIFE.  25 

bringing  the  Christian  spirit  into  the  heart.  We 
need  "  The  Still  Hour."  There  are  so  many  de- 
mands upon  our  intelligence,  so  many  uses  for 
the  intellect,  so  many  objects  of  thought,  so 
much  to  fill  the  brain  and  keep  it  active,  that 
there  is  little  chance  in  these  days  for  quiet 
meditation.  If  we  desire  it,  it  is  hard  to  find 
the  still  hour.  These  other  demands  upon  the 
thought  are  louder  and  more  obtrusive.  The 
whole  outward  machinery  of  our  life  is  adapted 
to  them.  The  routine  of  life  does  not  provide 
for  the  meditative  moment,  for  the  blessed  privi- 
lege of  solitude,  for  the  hour  to  be  spent  alone 
in  the  presence  of  the  Highest.  Once  it  was 
different.  Long  ago,  the  cloister  was  of  chief 
importance  in  the  religious  life.  Then  there  was 
too  much  solitude;  too  much  introsp'ection.  The 
cloistered  monks  thinned  out  the  life.  They 
fell  into  vagaries  and  notions.  They  passed  the 
bounds  of  sound  mental  and  spiritual  health. 
They  shunned  the  active  world,  where  they  might 
have  relieved  the  strain  of  their  intense  thought 
and  tested  and  corrected  the  product  of  their 
meditative  hours.  For  them  it  was  all  cloister 
and  no  world.  Now  it  is  all  world  and  no  clois- 
ter.    There  is  no  provision  for  the  meditative 


26  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

hour.  Our  cliurches  are  closed  except  for  regu- 
lar worship ;  our  shops  and  marts  of  course  ad- 
mit of  no  such  thing,  and  even  our  homes  are 
busy  places.  We  have  to  make  a  special  effort 
to  find  the  opportunity.  This  we  ought  to  do. 
We  ought  at  times  seriously  to  turn  the  current 
of  our  thought  and  feeling  Christward  and  God- 
ward.  "  You  have  torn  down  the  cloister,  but 
why  have  you  not  erected  it  in  your  own  hearts  ? 
Lo,  my  brother,  if  thou  wouldst  seek  out  the  still 
hour^  only  a  single  one  every  day,  and  if  thou 
wouldst  meditate  on  the  love  which  called  thee 
into  being,  which  hath  overshadowed  thee  all  the 
days  of  thy  life,  .  .  .  this  would  be  to  draw  near 
to  thy  God.  Thus  wouldst  thou  take  Him  by 
the  hand."  i 

VI.  —  The  Value  of  Prayer. 

Another  means  for  private  or  individual  use 
in  the  culture  of  the  Christian  life  is  prayer. 

Prayer  should  be  the  natural  outgrowth  of  Bi- 
ble reading  and  meditation.  When  our  thoughts 
have  been  with  Moses  and  the  Prophets  and  the 
Christ,  when  we  have  been  feeding  upon  the 
Psalms,  or  Isaiah,  or  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 

1  The  Still  Hour,  by  Austin  Phelps,  pp.  135,  136. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  27 

we  ought  to  find  ourselves  in  the  mood  for  prayer. 
We  shall  want  to  follow  those  spiritually  minded 
men  up  to  the  Father.  Prayer  is  a  means  of  en- 
riching, enlarging,  and  strengthening  the  life. 
Our  Lord  Himself  depended  upon  prayer.  He 
had  moments  of  exhaustion,  of  depletion ;  and 
in  those  moments,  and  when  He  was  passing 
through  some  special  trial,  and  when  He  was 
undertaking  some  great  work.  He  went  to  God 
in  prayer. 

There  is  something  exceedingly  touching  and 
something  very  instructive  in  Jesus'  habit  of  pri- 
vate prayer.  It  is  not  ostentatious  ;  it  is  not  for 
a  spectacle ;  it  is  not  advertised.  But  we  con- 
stantly find  Him  stealing  quietly  away  from  all 
companionship  and  seeking  the  company  of  God 
in  prayer.  After  those  exhausting  days  of  teach- 
ing and  healing,  after  the  drain  upon  His  life  in 
the  presence  of  multitudes,  the  flock  without  a 
shepherd,  the  loving,  the  curious,  the  scoffing, 
we  find  Him  seeking  the  fresh  breath  of  the 
mountain  air,  the  loneliness  of  the  wilderness, 
and  there  asking  for  the  presence  of  God  in  His 
heart.i  He  was  praying  at  His  baptism,  when 
the  heaven  opened  and  the  Spirit  descended  and 

1  Matthew  xiv.  23 ;    Luke  v.  16 ;  vi.  12. 


28  CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE. 

abode  upon  Him.^  He  prayed  before  the  call  of 
the  disciples.2  He  went  up  into  a  mountain  to 
pray,  and  was  praying  at  the  time  of  the  trans- 
figuration and  the  renewal  of  the  voice  from 
heaven  saying,  "  This  is  my  Beloved  Son."  ^  Hq 
prayed  before  Lazarus  was  raised  from  the  dead  ; 
He  prayed  with  His  disciples  when  they  were 
troubled  at  the  darkness  that  seemed  to  be  set- 
tling over  them,  and  the  danger  that  threatened 
their  beloved  Lord.*  He  wrestled  in  prayer ; 
He  groaned  and  prayed,  and  at  last  received 
strength  and  peace,  all  through  the  last  days 
which  culminated  in  the  cross. 

"We  then  must  pray.  We  must  reinforce  our 
lives.  Prayer  enables  us  to  receive  Divine  truth. 
It  is  our  means  of  communicating  with  the  Di- 
vine. Whatever  other  purpose  it  serves,  the 
great  value  of  prayer  is  that  it  keeps  us  close  to 
God,  and  brings  God  into  our  hearts.  We  may 
ask  for  other  things,  —  we  may  ask  for  material 
benefits,  we  may  pray  for  the  coming  of  the  rain, 
for  the  staying  of  the  flood,  for  the  arrest  of  dis- 
ease ;  we  may  pray  for  the  intercessio'n  of  God, 
the  staying  of  the  calamity  that  impends  ;   and 

1  Luke  iii.  2L  2  ibid.  vi.  12. 

3  Ibid.  ix.  28-35.  *  John  xvii. 


CHKIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  29 

men  who  dwell  near  to  God  will  continue  to 
speak  to  Him  of  all  their  needs,  and  in  simple 
fashion  to  express  before  Him  every  earnest  de- 
sire :  but  in  these  lines,  after  all,  we  do  not  know 
whether  in  folly  or  in  wisdom  our  prayer  as- 
cends, we  are  very  likely  to  ask  amiss  and  to 
receive  not.  We  must  ask  in  His  name,  in  His 
spirit.  And  surely  His  prayers  were  largely  for 
the  incoming  of  the  Divine  spirit  into  His  soul. 
When  we  seek  God  for  the  sake  of  finding  Him^ 
for  the  sake  of  receiving  His  life,  then  we  can- 
not be  asking  amiss,  and  we  must  receive.  It  is 
best,  like  Solomon,  not  to  ask  for  ourselves  long 
lives,  or  riches,  or  the  lives  of  our  enemies,  but 
for  a  wise  and  an  understanding  heart.^  We 
must  seek  for  ourselves  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  His  righteousness,  and  let  all  other 
things  be  added  in  their  proper  time  and  order.^ 
As.king  this,  we  shall  surely  receive.  Seeking 
this,  we  shall  surely  find. 

Prayer  is  the  hallowed  and  sacred  coming  in- 
to the  Divine  presence,  asking  of  God  that  He 
bestow  His  spirit  upon  us.  It  is  based  on  the 
belief  that  there  is  store  of  spiritual  reality  and 
of  truth  and  of  all  wisdom  and  love  in  the 
1  1  Kings  iii.  5-14.  ^  Matthew  vii.  33. 


30  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

Divine  heart.  It  is  our  humble  and  reverential 
and  earnest  petition  for  the  renewing  of  our 
hearts.  In  our  hours  of  depletion,  when  we  are 
weary  and  exhausted,  when  we  feel  that  strength 
and  life  have  gone  out  of  us,  we  need,  like  our 
Lord  and  Master,  to  go  apart  and  pray.  We 
need  the  constant  inflow  of  the  Divine  spirit, 
the  constant  presence  of  God.  We  need  the 
Divine  strength.  We  need  to  be  fed  from  on 
high ;  and  prayer  out  of  earnest  hearts  will 
surely  bring  God  into  our  lives.  It  will  surely 
renew  us  for  our  labor,  and  give  into  our  hearts 
the  Divine  patience  and  the  Divine  wisdom.  It 
will  surely  enlarge  our  faith  and  awaken  our 
love  ;  it  will  enable  us  to  follow  our  Lord,  to  walk 
as  He  walked,  and  to  be  blessed  as  He  was  blessed, 
in  sorrow,  in  temptation,  or  in  toil. 

The  Bible,  meditation,  and  prayer  are  means 
to  the  great  end  we  have  in  consideration ; 
namely,  the  attainment  of  the  Christian  life. 
These  means  belong  more  especially  to  the  in- 
dividual life,  or  have  been  considered  in  that 
relation.  They  arc  for  one's  private  use  in  the 
hours  devoted  to  the  building  up  of  the  charac- 
ter into  Christian  grace  and  strength. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  31 

yil.  —  The  Aid  of  Family  Worship. 

But  there  are  other  relations  than  those  be- 
tween each  individual  and  his  God.  The  soli- 
tary are  set  together  in  families.  The  family  is 
a  Divine  institution.  It  is  evident  that  God  de- 
signed the  family  to  be  a  centre  of  pure  life.  It 
may  become  the  source  of  untold  blessing.  Noth- 
ing is  more  important  than  to  make  the  home  a 
training-school  for  life.  There  should  be  instilled 
every  virtue  ;  there  the  young  should  be  brought 
up  to  reverence  God,  to  be  noble,  to  be  manly 
and  womanly,  to  be  generous  and  kind,  to  be 
brave  and  true,  to  love  honor,  to  have  respect  to 
righteousness.  Private  Bible-reading  and  medi- 
tation and  prayer  do  not  meet  all  the  require- 
ments of  the  Christian  life.  The  home  furnishes 
an  added  opportunity,  and  makes  a  new  obliga- 
tion. There  is  no  quicker,  surer,  more  constant 
means  of  helpfully  reaching  the  life  than  through 
the  sacred  relations  of  the  home.  Christian  fa- 
thers and  mothers  ought  to  be  able  to  rear  Chris- 
tian children.  If  they  do  not,  they  are  held 
responsible,  not  for  every  failure  in  result,  for 
sometimes  there  may  be  excuse,  but  for  every  neg- 
lect, for  silence  upon  the  great  themes  of  life,  for 


32  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

indifference  with  regard  to  the  moral  welfare  of 
children,  for  neglecting  to  mention  Christ,  and 
omitting  to  bring  the  children  to  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Christlike  life.  There  should  be  a 
wholesome  Christian  atmosphere  in  every  home. 
There  should  be  some  themes  of  conversation  be- 
side those  that  concern  trade,  dress,  amusements, 
accidents,  crimes,  and  the  happenings  of  the  day. 
We  cannot  expect  strong  moral  and  spiritual  life 
if  there  is  no  more  bracing  air  than  that  in  the 
home.  Children  are  growing  up  without  de- 
cided home  influence.  The  home  is  too  much 
a  lodging-place  and  dining-room  ;  it  is  too  little 
the  holy  of  holies  of  a  loving  group  joined  heart 
to  heart  in  deep  affection  for  the  purpose  of  the 
highest  and  strongest  life. 

Christ  and  God  should  be  systematically 
sought  in  the  home.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  they 
are  systematically  neglected.  The  strong  ten- 
dency, for  two  generations  at  least,  has  been  to 
neglect  family  worship,  —  to  throw  down  the 
home  altars.  As  a  means  of  fostering  the  Chris- 
tian life  the  home  altar  has  a  place  hardly  sec- 
ond to  the  altar  of  the  sanctuary.  We  have  too 
much  banished  the  Christ  from  home  life.  We 
have  come  to  think  that  His  name  is  to  be  seri- 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  33 

ously  heard  only  at  church,  or  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  or  at  the  conference  meeting.  Parents 
no  doubt  respect  religion,  and  think  that  their 
children  should  learn  something  of  Christian 
truth,  for  the  Sunday-schools  are  filled.  But 
they  are  inclined  to  put  the  responsibility  of  all 
religious  instruction  and  spiritual  guidance,  and 
it  might  almost  be  said  of  moral  influence,  upon 
the  church  and  Sunday-school.  Pains  are  not 
taken  to  make  the  home  the  centre  of  religious 
life.  This  applies  to  no  particular  denomina- 
tion ;  it  is  characteristic  of  the  time.  It  is  a 
woful  mistake.  We  cannot  afford  to  neglect  or 
to  forget  the  Christ  six  days  in  the  week.  We 
cannot  rightly  trust  our  children  to  develop  in 
Christian  character  under  the  influence  of  two 
hours'  Sabbath  instruction,  one  half  of  which  is 
ordinarily  beyond  their  understanding,  and  the 
other  half  liable  to  be  the  merest  formality  of 
question  and  answer.  The  father  or  mother 
who  expects  the  child  to  grow  up  —  or  to  be  built 
up,  as  the  splendid  New-Testament  expression  is 
—  under  the  influence  of  the  church  service  and 
Sunday-school  alone,  lacks  intelligence,  or  com- 
mon-sense, or  conscience.  .  Such  parents  are, 
to  say  the  least,  very  heedless  ;  and  such  heed- 

3 


34  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

lessness  ouches  tlie  point  of  criminal  neglect. 
Make  use,  parents  and  guardians  of  families,  of 
the  home  influence,  as  a  means  of  cultivating  the 
Christian  life.  Begin  the  day  with  a  common 
thought  of  God ;  have  family  prayers ;  avoid 
formalism ;  put  no  premium  on  piety  of  the  type 
that  touches  only  the  outside  of  life.  Make  the 
worship  healthful,  wholesome,  cheerful ;  make  it 
have  some  concern  with  the  daily  walk  and  con- 
versation. It  should  be  simple,  sincere,  and 
brief.  Some  part  of  the  Scripture  should  be 
read.  Some  good  thought  from  another  source 
is  not  out  of  place ;  in  homes  where  the  spirit 
of  song  is,  a  hymn  may  be  added,  and  a  prayer 
should  be  said.  Once,  at  least,  each  day  should 
the  family  be  united  in  such  service.  We  have, 
perhaps,  some  natural  timidity  to  overcome, 
some  old  prejudices  to  break  down  ;  but  for  the 
sake  of  themselves,  for  the  sake  of  their  chil- 
dren, for  the  sake  of  coming  generations,  par- 
ents must  take  the  Christian  training  of  chil- 
dren into  their  own  hands;  they  must  build 
altars  in  their  homes  to  the  good  Father,  and 
bring  the  household  into  the  Divine  presence 
every  day. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  35 


VIII. — The  Church  the  Great  Help. 

There  is  yet  one  other  means,  —  the  chief  and 
greatest  instrumentality  in  helping  to  the  Chris- 
tian life,  —  namely,  the  Church. 

Whatever  of  attainment  is  possible  without 
the  Church,  the  full  development  of  the  Christ 
life  can  only  come  with  the  Church.  Our 
brotherhood  extends  beyond  the  limits  of  blood- 
relationship.  "  He  hath  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of 
the  earth."  ^  KSacred  as  is  the  home,  sacred  as 
are  the  ties  of  kindred,  there  is  the  greater  fam- 
ily,—  the  one  family  under  the  fatherhood  of 
God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

No  human  life  can  be  perfect  in  isolation.  In 
the  great  household  of  God  there  must  be  that 
centre  of  Christian  influence  and  life,  that  union 
of  Christian  believers,  called  the  Church.  Under 
the  Divine  law,  indeed  by  the  Divine  creation,  we 
belong  one  to  another ;  and  if  we  try  to  be  Chris- 
tians belonging  only  each  to  himself  and  indi- 
vidually to  God,  we  must  fail.  One  who  holds 
himself  apart  from  that  great  means  of  life  and 

1  Acts  xvii.  26. 


36  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

work,  the  organic  union  of  all  believers  in  Christ, 
is  neglecting  one  of  the  divinely  appointed  ways 
whereby  his  own  life  may  be  enriched,  and  de- 
spising his  opportunity  to  bestow  upon  others 
the  gifts  that  Christ  has  given  to  men. 

The  Church  serves  the  end  of  bringing  the 
Christ  into  the  life  in  a  fourfold  way  :  — 

1.  It  invites  us  to  a  common  ivorship.  There 
is  much  in  this.  We  have  spoken  of  private 
worship.  We  need  also  to  worship  together. 
We  need  the  help  of  the  union  of  spirit  with 
spirit,  the  joining  of  soul  with  soul  in  common 
aspirations  and  purposes.  Our  common  worship 
reminds  us  of  the  fatherhood  of  God,  and  that  we 
belong  in  His  household.  There  is  a  power  in 
the  thought  and  desire  of  millions  unitedly  up- 
lifted to  God.  There  is  a  potent  effect  in  one's 
presence  in  the  little  assemblies  which  make  the 
units  of  the  mighty  whole.  "  Where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  ^  As  the  small  as- 
semblies feel  tlicmselves  united  in  the  strength 
of  God,  and  are  knit  together  to  make  the  mighty 
aggregate,  and  worship  the  same  Father  in  unity 
of  spirit,  then  the  life-blood  of  the  Christ  flows 

1  Matthew  xviii.  20. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  37 

rich  and  free  through  the  many  members  of  the 
great  body.  One  who  separates  himself  and 
tries  to  live  a  solitary  Christian  takes  himself 
away  from  this  strong  current  of  spiritual  life. 
Common  worship,  worship  in  union  and  in  uni- 
son, calls  down  abundant  blessings  and  brings 
the  Christ  richly  into  the  heart. 

2.  The  Church  not  only  provides  for  a  com- 
mon worship,  but  also  for  Christian  teaching  in 
the  spoken  word.  It  has  something  for  the  emo- 
tions and  sentiments  ;  it  provides  also  for  the 
common  study  of  the  Divine  truth.  We  are 
better  fitted  for  Christian  living  by  this  teaching. 
It  is  profitable  to  take  unitedly  into  our  thought 
the  problems  of  life,  and  together  to  seek  light. 
The  constant  and  systematic  application  of 
Christian  principles  to  all  the  questions  of  life 
is  secured  through  the  Church.  This  is  a  mat- 
ter of  no  small  moment.  That  it  has  an  effect 
cannot  be  doubted.  For  the  virtues  to  be  dwelt 
upon,  truth  to  be  praised,  Christian  love  urged, 
the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  gone  over  again 
and  again,  each  time  in  fresh  applications,  each 
time  in  relation  to  different  needs  and  circum- 
stances, is  surely  a  means  of  cultivating  the 
Christian  life.     The  spoken  word  could  not  be 


38  CHRIST  IN  THE.  LIFE. 

spared.  It  is  a  means  of  keeping  our  thought 
fresh,  Christ  with  us,  and  our  hearts  warm  and 
true. 

3.  The  Church  further  brings  the  Christ  into 
our  lives  through  the  sacraments. 

Baptism  is  the  seal  of  belief  and  the  symbol 
of  renewal ;  it  is  the  solemn  consecration  of  the 
life  in  the  Christian  faith ;  it  is  the  sign  of  our 
entrance  into  a  covenant  with  God ;  it  is  the 
visible  writing  down  of  our  pledge  to  follow 
faithfully  after  the  Christ;  it  indicates  and  in 
symbol  foreshadows  the  great  work  that  the 
Christ  is  to  do  for  us ;  it  points  forward  to  the 
utter  cleansing  of  the  life.  Having  received 
the  rite,  we  have  made  a  solemn  promise  to  our 
Father.  In  the  case  of  children  the  promise  is 
made  for  them  in  hope,  and  when  they  come  to 
years  of  discretion  and  intelligence  they  are  in- 
vited to  ratify  the  promise  and  make  it  for  them- 
selves. We  have  entered  into  the  company  of 
others  who  have  made  the  same  promise,  and 
placed  ourselves  as  near  as  possible  to  our  Sav- 
iour and  our  God.  We  have  taken  our  stand 
where  all  surroundings  are  most  favorable  for 
our  growth  in  Christian  character. 

The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  another 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  39 

help  offered  by  the  Church.  This  calls  us  into 
the  Christ's  presence.  It  removes  the  vast  sep- 
aration of  years  that  lie  between  us  and  the  life 
of  our  Lord.  It  is  the  symbol  of  the  feeding 
and  nurture  of  the  soul  upon  the  Christ  life.  To 
eat  His  body  and  drink  His  blood,  means,  as  He 
Himself  indicates,  to  receive  and  inwardly  to 
digest  His  truth .^  The  Lord's  Supper  is  the 
most  sacred  memorial  of  the  Christ.  Coming  to 
the  feast  with  a  true  conception  of  its  meaning, 
with  an  appreciation  of  the  privilege  offered, 
prepared  by  earnest  thought  and  devotion,  there 
is  a  blessing  in  this  sacrament  which  brings  us 
very  near  to  our  Lord,  and  makes  us  feel  that  He 
has  come  and  dwelt  within  our  hearts. 

4.  Again,  the  Church  helps  us  by  its  invitation 
to  a  common  service.  It  takes  us  out  to  a  com- 
mon work,  makes  us  "  laborers  together  with 
God."  Not  till  it  has  called  out  our  strength  in 
some  united  effort  for  the  good  of  men  has  the 
Church  provided  all  its  ways  for  helping  the 
Christian  life.  Nothing  is  so  stimulating  and 
helpful  as  to  join  hands  for  some  great  and  good 
work.  The  more  it  involves  earnest  effort  and 
the  bestowal  of   Christian  love,  the  better  its 

1  John  vi.  54,  63. 

I 


40  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

effect  upon  the  workers.  By  a  common  service 
is  meant  not  every  trivial  work  that  is  done 
under  church  auspices,  but  only  such  as  have  the 
true  Christian  quality,  that  involve  real  Chris- 
tian effort, —  works  of  benevolence,  of  church 
extension,  of  reform.  If  the  Church  offered  no 
common  objects  of  work  to  her  people,  if  conse- 
crated energies  could  not  be  centred  upon  com- 
mon ends,  it  would  soon  fall  into  inactivity  and 
pass  on  to  disintegration.  Work  is  in  large 
measure  the  promoter  of  vigor  and  health.  The 
working  church  is  the  living  church.  The  grand 
service  to  which  an  active  church  invites  her 
people  is  a  constant  inspiration  and  source  of 
life.  The  earnest  effort  reacts  upon  the  toiler. 
None  is  so  well  prepared  to  work  to-morrow  as 
he  who  has  worked  to-day.  None  has  in  him  in 
such  full  measure  the  spirit  of  labor  as  he  who 
is  earnestly  at  the  task.  The  common  service  to 
which  the  Church  invites  its  members  is  a  source 
of  life.     It  purifies  and  strengthens  the  soul. 

Such  are  the  means  or  instrumentalities  by 
which  the  Christian  life  may  be  cultivated.  We 
may  make  use  of  the  Bible,  of  meditation,  of 
prayer,  of  home  training   and  family  devotion, 


CHRIST   IN  THE  LIFE.  41 

and  of  the  Church,  helping  us  by  its  common 
worship,  its  spoken  word,  the  sacraments,  and 
its  common  work.  It  is  not  for  any  one  to 
make  a  choice  of  these  means,  but  for  every  one 
to  use  them  all.  They  are  indissoluble  parts  of 
one  solid  whole.  They  cannot  be  rightly  sepa- 
rated. You  cannot  choose  between  them,  any 
more  than  you  can  choose  by  which  rail,  the 
right  hand  or  the  left,  you  will  make  your  jour- 
ney across  the  continent,  or  whether  you  will 
use  the  steam-boiler  or  the  propeller  in  your  trip 
across  the  Atlantic.  There  is  vast  need  of  more 
consolidated  and  coherent  effort  all  along  the 
line  ;  there  is  need  that  we  realize  that  the  high- 
est ends  cannot  be  attained  till  we  appreciate  and 
use  the  grand  system  of  means  that  is  placed  in 
our  hands. 

IX.  —  Our  Contact  with  the  Christ. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Christ  is  ;  we  know 
that  He  ought  to  be  in  the  life,  and  have  men- 
tioned some  of  the  reasons  why  He  is  not  there, 
and  have  considered  some  of  the  means  by  which 
He  may  enrich  our  lives.  Assuming  that  we 
have  used  those  means,  and  that  the  Christ  is 
beginning  to  have  some  hold  upon  us,  we  inquire 


42  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

now  as  to  the  process  of  Christ's  work,  and  to 
this  inquiry  devote  sections  nine  and  ten. 

We  assume  that  there  has  been  that  recogni- 
tion of  evil  in  the  life  which  is  called  conviction  ; 
that  turning  away  of  the  thought  and  life  from 
evil  ways,  from  indifference  and  disobedience, 
which  is  repentance  ;  that  surrender  of  one's  self 
to  the  new  idea  and  way,  which  is  conversion  ; 
that  consciousness  that  a  new  spirit  has  found 
lodgment  and  abiding-place  in  the  life,  which  is 
the  new  birth,  —  these  experiences  are  assumed, 
and  we  ask  as  to  the  process  of  the  Christ's 
work  on  and  within  the  heart. 

This  is  a  practical  question,  because  the  Chris- 
tian experience  has  often  had  an  air  of  mystery 
and  remoteness.  It  has  come  to  be  a  common 
thought  that  it  is  something  altogether  dis- 
sociated from  life,  having  little  to  do  with  the 
here  and  now,  but  possibly  a  very  important  af- 
fair in  the  hereafter.  The  experience  has  been 
taken  unnecessarily  out  of  the  grasp  of  the 
understanding.  The  humanities  of  it  have  not 
been  sufficiently  emphasized.  It  has  been  made 
to  have  an  air  of  unnaturalness.  While  it  is 
natural  and  explicable  under  the  well-known 
and  great  laws  of  life,  it  has  been  set  off  by 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  43 

itself  and  made   strange.     An  inquiry  into  the 
facts,  then,  is  in  place. 

Jesus  describes  Himself  and  His  work  under 
various  differing  figures  of  speech.  Combined 
they  give  us  the  complete  notion  of  Himself  and 
His  work.  He  speaks  of  Himself  as  our  "  ex- 
ample," as  our  *'  leader,"  as  a  Saviour,  as  a  judge. 
He  describes  Himself  as  "  the  bread  of  life,"  as 
^'  the  water  of  life,"  as  "the  corner-stone,"  as  "the 
way  and  the  truth  and  the  life ; "  calls  Himself 
"  the  light  of  the  world."  He  represents  Him- 
self under  the  figure  of  "  the  Yine ;  "  calls  Himself 
"  the  door  "  by  which  His  sheep  may  go  in  and 
out  and  find  pasture,  and  also  "  the  shepherd," 
"  the  good  shepherd  who  giveth  his  life  for  the 
sheep."  Some  of  these  descriptions  present 
Christ  as  standing  outside  our  lives  and  leading 
us,  and  some  as  entering  into  our  lives  and  feed- 
ing us.  The  Apostles  also  speak  of  Jesus'  life 
and  work  in  terms  not  uniform.  Saint  Paul 
exhorts  that  the  same  "  mind  "  ^  be  in  the  Phi- 
lippian  disciples  that  was  in  Christ.  The  writer 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  calls  Jesus  "  the 
author  and  finisher  of  our  faith."  2  Saint  Peter 
says  that  He  left  an  "  example"  ^  that  the  brethren 

1  Philippians  ii.  5.        2  Hebrews  xii.  2.        ^  1  Peter  ii.  21. 


44  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

should  follow  His  steps.  Saint  Paul  calls  Jesus 
the  "  one  mediator  between  God  and  men."  i 
He  speaks  of  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in 
Him  which  frees  us  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death.2  He  says  that  in  Him  we  have  redemp- 
tion through  His  blood.^  Saint  John  savs  that 
His  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  "  if  we  walk 
in  the  light  as  He  is  in  the  light."  ^  Helpful 
suggestions  as  to  the  process  of  Jesus'  work  are 
to  be  found  in  Jesus'  exhortation,  "  Abide  in 
me  and  I  in  you;"  ^  and  in  Saint  Paul's  saying 
that  the  baptized  have  "  put  on  Christ,"  ^  and 
the  seemingly  contradictory  words  in  the  same 
epistle,  Christ  is  "  formed  within  you  ; "  ^  and 
in  his  statement  that  we  are  called  into  fellow- 
ship with  Christ,^  and  that  we  are  "  strengthened 
with  might  by  His  spirit  in  the  inner  man."  ^ 

It  must  be  confessed  that  from  these  words  of 
Christ  and  the  Apostles  one  gets  no  very  clear 
idea  as  to  method  or  process.  They  seem  them- 
selves to  have  made  no  special  effort  to  explain. 
They  did  not  enter  into  any  psychologic  discus- 
sion.    They  give  us  no  metaphysics.     They  use 

i  1  Timothy  ii.  5.       ^  Romans  viii.  2.        »  Ephesians  i.  7. 
4  1  John  i.  7.  6  John  xv.  4.  6  Galatians  iii.  27. 

7  Ibid.  iv.  19.  8  I  Corinthians  1.9.     9  Ephesians  iii.  16. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  45 

such  figures  as  serve  on  each  particular  occasion 
the  special  purpose  of  that  time.  But  such  pas- 
sages as  liave  been  cited  and  the  whole  New 
Testament  history  indicate  this  fact :  that  the 
Christ  worked  upon  and  within  the  lives  of  the 
disciples  by  personal  contact  of  spirit  with  spirit, 
life  with  life,  under  the  same  law  and  by  the 
same  processes  that  govern  to-day  the  influence 
of  one  life  over  another.  How  strange  it  is,  this 
influence  of  life  upon  life!  What  wonderful 
power  spirit  has  upon  spirit  I  What  strange 
contact  of  soul  with  soul,  with  what  wonderful 
results,  we  are  witnessing  all  the  time  !  When 
we  know  the  process  that  communicates  the  bra- 
very of  a  great  captain  to  the  men  in  the  ranks, 
or  that  subdues  to  the  sway  of  a  great  intellect 
thousands  of  followers,  or  sends  the  sentiments 
of  one  great  heart  thrilling  through  multitudes, 
then  we  shall  know  the  process  by  which  tlie 
Christ  works  in  our  lives.  Somehow,  we  know 
not  how,  spirit  and  life  pass  from  heart  to  heart, 
from  soul  to  soul.  Somehow  one  great  master 
mind  may  enter  into  and  mould  other  minds. 
One  generous  heart  may  fill  and  warm  a  thou- 
sand others.  We  may  say  that  it  is  a  mystery, 
just  as  the  process  of  the  transfer  of  sunshine 


46  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

and  soil  into  the  living  blade  of  grass  is  a  mys- 
tery ;  but  it  is  a  most  palpable  fact. 

Was  not  the  great  Saint  Bernard  communicat- 
ing himself  to  the  great  multitudes  that  waited 
upon  his  words  ?  Were  not  the  hearers  who 
flocked  to  him  from  all  over  Europe  receiving 
himself  into  their  lives  ?  Did  he  not  become  a 
part  of  them?  His  remarkable  intellect,  his 
simple  and  sincere  piety,  his  marvellous  wisdom 
were  imparted  to  them.  He  was  in  contact  with 
many  :  the  common  people  heard  him  in  crowds. 
He  was  counsellor  of  kings  and  nobles,  bishops 
and  popes.  He  ruled  Europe  by  the  power  of 
his  spirit.  That  he  entered  into  the  hearts  of 
others  and  gave  them  his  spirit,  let  the  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  populous  monasteries  formed 
after  his  suggestion  testify,  let  the  crusade  in- 
stigated by  him  bear  witness,  let  the  potentates 
and  people  of  Europe  who  bowed  before  him  de- 
clare. His  glowing  spirit,  his  passionate  ear- 
nestness found  its  way  into  other  lives. 

When  King  Henry  of  Navarre  rode  up  and 
down  the  lines  before  the  battle  of  Ivry  giving 
words  of  encouragement  to  his  soldiers,  assuring 
them  that  he  would  either  conquer  or  die,  did  he 
not  impart  something  of  himself  to  the  waiting 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  47 

army  ?  "  If  my  standard  fail  you,"  said  he, 
"  keep  my  plume  in  sight.  You  will  always  see 
it  in  the  face  of  glory  and  honor."  Was  not  the 
king  living  within  that  army  ?  Was  not  he  him- 
self, his  courage,  his  purpose,  his  very  life,  com- 
municated to  them  ?  The  three  white  plumes  of 
his  helmet  seen  everywhere  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fight  carried  his  own  valor  and  spirit  into 
bis  hosts.  Those  soldiers  trusted  him  ;  they  had 
faith  in  him.  He  had  faith  in  them  and  trusted 
them.  He  was  in  them  and  they  in  him.  One 
life  can  and  does  fill  other  lives.  One  intellect 
can  transform  other  intellects.  One  heart  can 
kindle  sentiment  in  other  hearts.  There  is  vital 
union  between  person  and  person.  A  leader,  be 
he  theologian,  or  statesman,  or  warrior,  or  phi- 
lanthropist, or  reformer,  reproduces  himself  in 
his  followers.  It  is  a  law  of  the  human  soul 
that  it  can  be  mightily  moved  by  some  other 
soul.  Under  that  law  we  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being.  We  are  ever  feeling  the  power 
of  some  other  over  us,  or  our  power  over  some 
other. 

Under  this  law,  whose  operation  is  so  familiar 
a  fact,  the  Christ  enters  into  our  lives.  The 
spirit  that  lives  in  him  is  the  Divine  spirit.     "  I 


48  CHRIST  IN   THE  LIFE. 

and  my  Father  are  one,"  ^  He  says ;  "  I  am  in 
the  Father  and  the  Father  in  me."  ^  That  spirit 
which  is  in  Him  enters  into  His  disciples  ;  it 
fills  and  controls  them  ;  it  rules  and  sways  their 
lives.  The  New  Testament  picture  of  apostolic 
discipleship  is  a  grand  picture  of  lives  utterly 
possessed  with  the  spirit  of  the  Christ.  The 
Christ  is  in  them  ;  His  purposes  are  in  them  ; 
His  motives  are  in  them ;  His  life  is  in  them. 
"  Nevertheless  not  I  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me,"  ^  exclaims  Saint  Paul.  Those  men  had 
Christ  in  their  hearts.  He  led  them  and  com- 
manded them  from  within,  and  sent  them  forth  in 
the  power  of  His  spirit  to  do  His  work.  In  the 
same  way  the  spirit  of  the  Christ  may  work  in 
all  men.  His  spirit  touches  our  spirit.  When 
John  Wesley  had  been  preaching  for  some  years 
he  was  reconverted,  or  as  he  thought  for  the  first 
time  really  converted,  to  Christ.  It  put  new 
life  into  him  ;  it  awakened  every  latent  power. 
It  sent  him  forth  on  that  splendid  career  of  con- 
secrated and  successful  effort  which  brought 
forth  such  abundant  fruit,  and  entitles  him  to  be 
enrolled  among  the  holy  men  of  God  who  have 
turned  the   currents  of  the  world's  life.     The 

1  Jolin  X.  30         2  John  xiv.  10.        3  Galatians  ii.20. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  49 

Christ-spirit  came  to  him  at  that  time  in  larger 
measure ;  it  filled  full  his  soul ;  he  was  a  new 
man  in  Christ.  He  too  might  say,  "  Neverthe- 
less not  I  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 

We  stand  in  awe  before  the  complete  posses- 
sion of  the  human  soul  by  the  spirit  of  the 
Christ.  This  utter  giving  up  of  the  life  to  an- 
other life,  and  that  the  life  of  God  as  it  is  in 
Christ,  is  a  fact  of  sublime  meaning  and  impor- 
tance. But  the  process  is  just  as  simple  and 
natural  as  the  way  in  which  the  life  of  a  beloved 
friend  finds  its  way  into  one's  heart.  We  are 
kindred  spirits  with  the  Christ ;  we  are  made  in 
the  Divine  image.  We  are  sons  of  God,  way- 
ward it  is  true,  strayed  away,  and  needing 
through  Christ  to  be  adopted  again  into  the 
home,^  and  yet  always  related  to  God  as  children, 
and  to  Christ  as  our  elder  brother.  If  we  were 
not  divinely  created,  Christ  could  not  come  near 
us.  If  we  were  of  some  other  order,  CJirist  could 
not  enter  our  lives.  If  there  be  mystery  about 
this  relation  of  the  Christ  with  us,  it  is  the 
same  mystery  that  attaches  to  the  relation  of 
your  life  with  the  life  of  your  dear  friend.  It  is 
not  a  mystery  belonging  to  the  Clirist  and  reli- 

1  See  "  Manuals  of  Faith  and  Duty,"  No.  1,  sec.  v. 
4 


50  CHRIST   IN   THE  LIFE. 

gion,  not  a  mystery  that  sets  Him  afar  off  and 
separates  religion  from  the  understanding,  but  a 
mystery  that  belongs  to  life  itself,  and  one  that 
we  face  every  day.  As  your  beloved  friend  finds 
a  way  into  your  heart,  and  has  the  power  to  give 
you  his  spirit ;  so  you  may  come  under  the  spell 
of  the  Christ,  and  find  Him  filling  all  your  life. 
You  are  filled  with  His  motive ;  His  purposes 
are  your  purposes ;  His  spirit  is  your  spirit. 
You  cherish  and  obey  Him ;  you  follow  Him 
into  all  the  battle  of  life;  you  make  struggle 
with  Him  against  all  selfishness  and  sin ;  you 
share  His  divine  enthusiasm ;  you  enter  into  all 
that  life  of  love  and  good-will,  of  personal  purity 
and  righteousness,  which  means  your  redemp- 
tion and  the  redemption  of  the  world.  He  is  all 
in  all  to  you;  you  do  not  live,  but  the  Christ 
lives  in  you. 

X.  —  Christian  Growth. 

But  we  may  gather  from  New  Testament 
teachings  something  further  and  more  definite 
with  regard  to  the  process  of  Christ's  work. 

Sometimes  the  Christian  experience  stops  with 
the  awakening  of  the  emotions.  Christ  comes 
and  fills  the  heart,  but  for  the  moment  only. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  'LIFE.  51 

His  Spirit  enters  a  multitude  under  some  special 
stress,  and  thrills  them  with  ecstasy.  But  the 
splendid  inflow  of  feeling  dies  away  with  the 
occasion.  It  is  as  though  the  hosts  of  King 
Henry,  having  won  the  battle  of  Ivry,  and  lost 
sight  of  their  beloved  commander  for  a  time, 
should  have  melted  away  and  become  unavail- 
able for  the  contests  that  remained.  But  this  is 
not  New  Testament  Christianity  ;  this  is  not  the 
Pauline  idea  of  the  Christian  life.  There  must 
be  something  besides  the  momentary  presence  of 
the  Christ  with  us.  He  must  not  only  enter  our 
lives,  but  He  must  remain  there  ;  He  must  be- 
come assimilated,  a  part  of  our  very  selves.  It 
is  a  pleasure  to  eat,  and  having  eaten  properly, 
and  being  in  health,  there  is  a  certain  satisfac- 
tion attending  the  fact  of  an  appeased  hunger. 
But  this  pleasure  is  one  of  the  least  of  the  bene- 
fits of  eating.  It  is  the  digestion  of  the  food,  its 
entrance  into  the  blood,  and  through  the  blood 
into  the  life,  —  into  all  the  avenues  of  activity, 
promoting  health,  giving  power,  and  securing 
growth,  —  that  does  the  real  and  abiding  good. 
So  it  is  a  pleasure  to  be  deeply  moved  by  the 
presence  of  the  Christ-spirit.  Such  emotions 
give  us  the  highest  joy.      There  is  no  higher 


52  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

pleasure  than  to  feel  the  sway  and  power  of 
some  grand  thought,  or  to  be  under  the  spell  of 
some  exalted  feeling.  But  this,  after  all,  is  the 
least  of  the  benefits  of  the  coming  of  the  Christ 
into  the  life.  Many  Christians,  however,  are 
satisfied  with  an  experience  which  does  not  pass 
this  bound.  They  have  the  exquisite  joy  of 
emotional  Christianity,  but  they  have  no  diges- 
tive power.  There  is  no  assimilation,  no  growth, 
no  appearance  of  new  health ;  there  is  no  change, 
no  development  in  character.  And  such  experi- 
ence, such  imperfect  and  inconsistent  living,  has 
in  the  minds  of  hard-headed  and  reasoning  peo- 
ple brought  the  Christian  life  into  disrepute. 
But  this  is  not  the  Christian  life  ;  and  this  habit 
is  the  habit  of  one  who  has  not  in  him  health  of 
soul.  It  is  the  habit  of  one  who  lives  to  eat,  and 
not  of  one  who  eats  to  live  ;  the  habit  of  one  who 
enters  into  the  Christian  experience  only  for  the 
sake  of  those  moments  of  emotional  joy,  and  not 
for  the  sake  of  reforming  his  character  into  the 
likeness  of  the  Christ. 

The  real  Christian  experience  carries  us  be- 
yond these  high  tides  of  the  spirit.  There  must 
be  not  only  a  partaking  of  Christ,  but  also 
growth  in  Christ.     This  is  plainly  indicated  in 


CHKIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  53 

the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  the  Apostles.  The 
strongest,  clearest,  and  most  emphatic  words  of 
Jesus  either  declare  or  imply  that  the  Christian 
character  is  a  growth.  The  parable  of  the  sower 
represents  the  word  and  the  truth  of  God  in 
Christ  as  a  seed  which  is  cast  into  the  ground, 
which  is  to  spring  up,  and  grow,  and  bear  fruit. 
He  compared  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  to  the  bringing  forth  of  fruit  from  the 
earth,  —  "  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that 
the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  i  He  speaks  of  himself 
as  the  vine,  of  the  disciples  as  the  branches,^ 
bringing  to  our  minds  at  once  the  idea  of  a 
living,  organic,  growth-producing  union  between 
Christ  and  the  disciples.  His  life  was  in  them. 
They  were  living,  and  thriving,  and  bearing  fruit. 
Again  He  uses  an  emphatic  figure  of  a  different 
kind,  but  conveying  the  same  thought.  He  com- 
mands His  disciples  to  eat  His  flesh  and  drink 
His  blood.3  He  declares  Himself  to  be  "the 
true  bread  that  cometh  down  from  heaven,"  and 
says,  "  He  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by 
me."*  If  these  figures  do  not  directly  imply 
that  we  are  to  take  the  Christ-spirit  into  our 

1  Mark  iv.  28.  ^  John  xv.  5. 

3  Ibid.  vi.  53.  4  Ibid.  vi.  57. 


54  CHRIST  IN    THE  LIFE. 

lives,  and  digest  it,  and  grow  upon  it,  then  they 
have  no  meaning  at  all.  Saint  Paul  very  strongly 
conveys  the  same  thought.  He  uses  both  the 
figure  of  building  and  that  of  growing.  He 
speaks  of  God's  work  through  Christ  as  the  per- 
fecting of  the  saints^  (even  the  saints  have  to 
be  perfected).  He  often  uses  the  word  "edify," 
which  means  ''  building  up,"  and  gives  us  the 
idea  of  a  process  by  which,  strength  added  to 
strength,  after  a  time  every  man  is  presented 
perfect  in  Christ  Jesus.^  He  exhorts  the  dis- 
ciples to  grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things,  who 
is  the  head,  even  Christ.^ 

Christ,  then,  must  not  only  enter  into  the 
heart  and  fill  it  with  splendid  sentiment ;  He 
must  remain  there  and  feed  the  moral  life. 
He  must  be  a  constant  influence  upon  the  char- 
acter. Any  one  can  enjoy  the  Christ  for  an 
hour.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  have  our 
hearts  stirred  on  a  Sunday  by  some  fervid 
word.  Most  of  us  are  more  or  less  uplifted 
by  the  customary  forms  of  the  religious  service. 
But  we  have  gone  only  a  little  way  in  the  reli- 
gious experience,  if  this  is  all.  We  must  feed 
upon    Christ.      We   must   find   Him   giving   us 

1  Ephesians  iv.  12.    2  Colossians  i.  28.    ^  Epliesians  iv.  15. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  55 

strength.  We  must  see  that  His  spirit  is  be- 
coming our  own.  We  must  feel  the  glow  of 
health,  of  spiritual  health,  and  know  that  we 
are  acquiring  moral  vigor.  We  must  find  in 
ourselves  some  greater  power  to  resist  evil, 
some  stronger  inclination  to  do  good.  We  must 
make  measurable  gains  in  virtue  and  purity, 
in  zeal  and  unselfishness.  Can  we  think  that 
Saint  Paul  would  call  any  one  a  good  Christian 
who  went  on  year  after  year  suffering  from  the 
very  same  faults  and  failings  ?  Could  it  be  justly 
said  that  one  was  growing  up  into  Christ  who 
is  just  as  impatient,  just  as  indifferent,  just  as 
selfish  now  as  he  was  five,  ten  years  ago  ?  The 
Christians  who  really  exemplify  the  Christian 
experience  are  those  whose  hearts  and  minds 
feed  upon  Christ,  who  in  all  things  are  enriched 
by  Him,i  who  are  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto 
good  works,^  who,  as  the  years  go  by,  grow 
more  Christlike,  more  saintly,  more  pure,  more 
strong. 

XI.  —  Results  in  the  Individual. 

We  consider,  next,  the  results  of  Christ's  work 
in  the  life.     Perhaps  we  have  trespassed  slightly 

1  1  Corinthians  i.  5.  2  Ephesians  ii.  10. 


56  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

upon  this  ground  already,  and  may  seem  to  have 
more  or  less  to  do  with  results,  in  the  remainder 
of  the  book.  But  each  section  has  a  distinct 
purpose,  and  the  endeavor  will  be  to  make  each 
one  serve  its  special  end. 

The  results  of  the  Christ's  work  appear  in 
the  individual,  in  society,  and  in  the  creation 
of  God.  They  are  found  along  the  lines  that 
radiate  from  the  Christ's  character.  "-  We  shall 
be  like  Him."  ^  We  may,  then,  briefly  contem- 
plate the  Clirist,  and  estimate,  so  far  as  is  in  our 
power.  His  moral  and  spiritual  worth. 

It  is  difficult  for  the  human  understanding 
justly  to  estimate  Him,  or  rightly  to  describe 
His  character.  One  undertaking  the  task  seems 
all  the  time  to  be  treading  on  hallowed  ground. 
While  he  is  making  the  description  in  human 
terms,  there  is  something  that  seems  beyond  the 
reach  of  man-made  words.  When  one  thinks 
he  has  grasped  in  some  right  way  the  true  con- 
ception of  the  Christ,  and  duly  appreciated  His 
worth,  there  comes  a  thought  of  insufficiency,  a 
solemn  impression  that  one  is  trying  to  fathom 
divinity  itself.  To  contemplate  the  Christ  in 
His  moral  and  spiritual  grandeur  is  to  be  lifted 

1  1  John  iii.  2. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  57 

up  above  the  earth,  above  all  ordinary  life,  and 
to  feel  the  overshadowing  of  the  divine.  Hence 
the  difficulty  of  putting  into  human  terms  all 
that  He  is.  We  say  that  He  is  type  of  the 
highest  manhood,  —  that  He  is  humanity  itself 
at  its  height,  perfect  and  complete.  He  is,  as 
He  most  often  calls  Himself,  the  "  Son  of  man," 
the  perfection  of  human  virtue  and  grace,  en- 
shrined in  our  hearts  as  our  Elder  Brother,  our 
ideal  of  human  excellence. 

And  yet  this  is  not  enough.  This  does  not 
compass  Jesus  the  Christ.  We  feel  that  there 
is  more  in  His  life  and  character  than  we  have 
yet  told,  more  than  can  be  measured  by  these 
words.  There  is  in  Him  a  spirit  and  a  power 
which  cannot  be  brought  down  to  the  level  of 
the  highest  flights  of  the  human  imagination. 
We  cannot  fully  describe  Him  in  terms  of  hu- 
man quality  and  character.  In  His  presence 
we  rise  above  the  line  that  marks  the  limits  of 
man's  aspirations  and  of  the  loftiest  human 
love.  We  are  like  one  looking  into  the  firma- 
ment. There  is  a  vision  of  glory  and  majesty 
that  transcends  the  grandest  scenes  of  the  earth. 
We  are  looking  out  upon  the  borders  and  into 
the  depths  of  the  universe  itself.     A  profound 


68  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

awe,  a  sense  of  the  infinite  extent,  the  unknown 
depths  and  heights  of  the  material  creation,  pos- 
sesses lis,  such  as  no  Alpine  grandeur  can  in- 
spire. We  are  brought  by  that  upward  look 
into  a  new  relation  with  the  creation  of  God. 
So  it  is  with  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  man ;  when 
we  look  earnestly  upon  His  life,  we  are  looking 
up  into  the  heavens.  We  are  in  a  new  presence. 
We  are  looking  into  the  divine  depths.  Noth- 
ing that  our  earthly  outlook  has  revealed  gives 
us  the  same  sense  of  greatness.  Nothing  so  im- 
presses us  with  the  feeling  of  the  glory  and  the 
beauty  and  the  grandeur  of  life.  Nothing  so  takes 
our  thought  and  imagination  out  into  a  region  of 
infinite  expanse,  where  is  the  very  essence  of 
goodness  and  love.  The  Christ  carries  us  out 
of  ourselves.  He  gives  the  vision  of  the  Divine. 
In  His  presence  we  are  brought  into  a  new 
relation  with  the  spiritual  creation  of  God, 
with  spiritual  life,  with  all  morality  and  truth, 
with  all  righteousness  and  love.  We  are  led 
up  to  the  Father,  and  compelled  to  say,  "  This 
is  His  beloved  Son  ;  this  is  the  Son  of 
God." 

In  Christ  is  the  perfect  interblending  of  the 
human  and  the  Divine.     He  stands  at  the  sum- 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  59 

mit  of  human  life,  and  in  Him  we  are  lifted  up 
to  God. 

Christ's  work  upon  and  within  the  human 
heart  bestows  and  develops  those  qualities  of 
life  which  so  impress  us  in  Jesus  Himself.  The 
man  in  whose  heart  the  Christ  is,  is  beginning 
to  approach  the  ideal  of  human  excellence. 
There  is  beginning  to  be  in  his  soul  the  inter- 
blending  of  the  human  and  the  Divine.  There 
is  something  in  the  Christian  life,  as  in  the  life 
of  our  Lord  Himself,  that  lifts  us  above  the 
earth,  above  ourselves,  and  makes  us  more  sure 
of  God  Himself.  Every  one  who  heroically  and 
steadfastly  obeys  the  moral  law  feeds  our  faith. 
Every  unselfish  act  affords '  us  a  glimpse  into 
heaven.  The  final  outcome  of  Christ  in  the  life 
is  the  man  grown  into  the  perfect  likeness  of 
Christ.  "  Whom  we  preach,"  says  Saint  Paul, 
"  warning  every  man,  and  teaching  every  man 
in  all  wisdom ;  that  we  may  present  every  man 
perfect  in  Christ  Jesus."  ^  "  We  shall  be  like 
Him,"  2  says  Saint  John  ;  and  again  Saint  Paul, 
"  We  all,  with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same 
image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit 

1  Colossians  i.  28.  2  1  jo^n  iii.  2. 


60  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

of  the  Lord."  ^  "  Christ,"  he  says,  is  "  unto  us 
wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption;" 2  "  Christ  in  jou"  is  "the  hope 
of  glory."  3  Jesus  defines  this  glory:  "Herein  is 
my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit ; "  * 
and  Saint  Paul  leaves  us  no  doubt  as  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  expected  fruit :  "  The  fruit  of  the 
spirit  is  in  all  goodness  and  righteousness  and 
truth." ^  The  most  glorious  and  sublime  teaching 
of  all  on  this  point  is  in  the  prayer  of  Jesus 
spoken  for  the  help  of  the  disciples  in  view  of 
their  great  trial  so  soon  to  come.  He  prayed 
for  the  very  same  oneness  between  Himself  and 
His  present  ancl  future  disciples  as  existed  be- 
tween Himself  and  God  :  "  I  in  them  and  thou 
in  me,  tliat  they  may  bo  made  perfect  in  one  ; "  ^ 
and  says  that  the  glory  which  God  had  given 
to  Him,  He  has  given  to  those  that  believe  on 
His  name,  "  that  they  may  be  one,"  even  as  He 
and  the  Father  are  one.  This  is  the  consum- 
mation of  Christ's  work  in  the  heart.  It  is  the 
man  made  new  in  Christ  and  brought  into 
Christlike  oneness  with  God. 

1  2  Corinthians  iii.  18.  2  i  Corinthians  i.  30. 

^  Colossians  i.  27.  *  John  xv.  8. 

s  Ephcsians  v  9  6  John  xvii.  22,  23. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  61 

Regarded  by  itself,  this  result  may  seem  like 
something  far  removed.  It  may  seem  impalpa- 
ble and  in  the  clouds.  We  do  indeed  need  to 
be  careful  lest  we  become  lost  in  exalted  thought 
up  in  a  distant  region  of  ideal  grace  and  virtue 
and  glory.  We  must  follow  Jesus  and  the  Apos- 
tles, and  make  the  work  of  Christ  most  present 
and  tangible  and  real.  To  those  who  heard  the 
Christ's  words,  who  received  His  ministry  of 
love,  or  listened  to  His  denunciations  of  wrong, 
there  was  nothing  sublimated  or  impractical 
about  Him.  We  must  not  depart  from  His 
simplicity.  We  must  not  be  content  with  rhap- 
sodies over  His  greatness.  When  Jesus  said, 
"  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them ; "  ^ 
when  in  the  course  of  that  grand  discourse  on 
the  judgment  He  said,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  breth- 
ren, ye  have  done  it  unto  me  ;  "  ^  when  He  said, 
"  Whosoever  shall  give  unto  one  of  these  little 
ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in  the  name  of 
a  disciple  ...  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  re- 
ward ; "  3  again,  when  He  prayed   for   His  dis- 

1  Matthew  vii.  12.  -'  Ibid.  xxv.  4a 

3  Ibid.  X.  42. 


62  CHRIST   IN   THE  LIFE. 

ciples,  that  they  should  not  be  tiikcn  out  of  the 
world  but  kept  from  the  evil,  and  that  they  might 
be  made  holy  through  God's  truth,^  then  surely 
there  was  nothing  distant  or  obscure  or  out  of 
reach  about  His  words.  We  must  not  become 
lost  in  the  glory  of  the  final  outcome,  but  must 
be  attentive  to  the  simple  results  of  faithfulness 
along  these  practical  linos,  as  they  appear  in  the 
daily  progress  of  the  growing  Christian. 

The  result  of  the  Christ's  work  in  the  indi- 
vidual heart  is  to  make  him  obedient  to  God, 
loving,  pure,  and  strong.  We  can  make  no 
statement  stronger  than  Saint  Paul's.  In  the 
midst  of  a  most  practical  exhortation  to  the 
Ephesians,  he  announces  the  great  object  of 
the  divine  ministry  in  Christ,  through  apos- 
tles, prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  and  teachers, 
to  be  "  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  unto  the 
work  of  ministering,  unto  the  building  up  of 
the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  attain  unto  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  full-grown  man^  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ:'  2 

1  John  xvii.  15,  19. 

2  Ephesians  iv.  12,  13. 


CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE.  63 

XII.  —  Results  in  Society. 
Then,  further,  the  results  of  the  Christ's  work 
appear  in  the  social  organism.  The  common 
saying  that  corporations  have  no  souls  indicates 
a  Christian  work  remaining  undone.  Not  till 
the  entire  social  organism  has  a  soul  will  that 
work  be  complete.  A  renovated  society,  a  di- 
vine order  and  life  in  the  earth,  was  clearly  in 
the  minds  of  the  prophets,  as  the  vision  of  truth 
was  unfolded  to  them.  Jesus  speaks  constantly 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  indicates  its  growth 
and  maturity  in  the  progress  of  the  earthly  gen- 
erations. In  fact,  He  spoke  chiefly  of  that  king- 
dom in  the  earth.  He  describes  its  manner  of 
growth,  the  hindrances  it  would  meet,  and  its 
mighty  extent  at  last.^  Saint  John's  ecstatic 
vision  was  of  the  New  Jerusalem  come  down  to 
earth. 

We  cannot  be  satisfied  with  the  state  of  soci- 
ety to-day.  We  can  look  back  and  see  that 
there  has  been  large  advance  along  the  lines  of 
Christ's  truth  and  life.  Large  and  fair  portions 
of  the  earth  have  been  reclaimed  from  barba- 
rism.    Despotism  has  wellnigh   disappeared  in 

1  See  the  parable  of  the  Mustard  seed,  the  Sower,  etc. 


64  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

the  Christian  nations,  slavery  has  been  abolisliecl, 
womanhood  has  been  lifted  out  of  degradation, 
and  brutal  warfare  has  steadily  decreased.  But 
when  we  take  in  at  one  view  all  the  wrong  and 
sin  and  injustice  and  brutality  and  selfishness 
that  yet  remain,  our  hearts  almost  fail  us.  But 
as  results  already  have  appeared,  we  have  cause 
to  hope  and  to  take  courage ;  and  as  Christ  is 
in  our  hearts,  we  must  labor  on.  The  second 
of  the  great  commandments  was  not  given  for 
naught.  ''  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self "  holds  a  world  of  meaning.  The  command 
has  not  been  sufficiently  obeyed.  It  does  not 
mean  that  we  shall,  through  neglect  or  indiffer- 
ence or  ignorance,  let  our  neighbor  grow  up  in 
surroundings  that  corrupt  him  body  and  soul, 
and  then  at  a  late  day  for  the  sake  of  his  ever- 
lasting welfare  send  an  evangelist  to  convert  him. 
It  does  not  mean  that  we  shall  neglect  the  chil- 
dren that  are  growing  up  cultivated  in  vice  and 
crime  and  educated  in  sin,  and  then,  when  sin 
has  already  conceived  and  brought  forth  death, 
use  all  the  enginery  of  the  church  to  drag  these 
poor  souls  from  the  brink  of  an  imaginary  hell. 
It  does  not  mean  that  we  shall  allow  greed  and 
selfishness  to  make  the  conditions  of  human  life. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE*  65 

It  does  not  mean  that  one  and  another  shall  feel 
secure  in  his  individual  salvation,  and  stand  pas- 
sive, while  thousands  are  morally  ruined  by 
corrupting  circumstances  within  the  control  of 
the  Christian's  consecrated  strength.  It  means, 
rather,  that  Christian  spirit  shall  be  thrown  into 
the  life  of  the  social  order,  that  Christian  love 
shall  be  ever  working  its  way  into  all  the  chan- 
nels of  life  and  making  itself  actively  felt.  The 
Christian  spirit  should  be  the  soul  of  reforms ;  it 
should  be  making  itself  felt  against  every  shape 
of  moral  disorder.  It  should  be  everywhere 
moulding  life  and  making  the  conditions  of  life 
to  its  own  will  and  liking.  If  the  Christ-life  is 
in  any  heart,  that  one  must,  like  our  Lord,  be 
about  the  Father's  work.  He  who  claims  to  be 
a  Christian  and  is  indifferent  to  the  welfare  of 
his  brother-men,  has  yet  the  greatest  conquest 
of  all  to  make,  the  conquest  of  self.  He  is  far 
from  salvation.  "  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto 
me.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  i  "  And  this  is  the  Father's 
will,  .  .  .  that  of  all  which  He  hath  given  me  I 
should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  again 

1  Matthew  vii.  21. 
5 


Q6  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

at  the  last  day."  ^  In  the  process  of  saving  what 
God  has  given  to  Christ  (and  the  Father  hath 
given  all  things  into  His  hands)  ,^  the  Second  Com- 
mandment plays  an  important  part.  There  must 
come,  through  the  Christian  love  of  men  one  for ! 
another,  a  better  order  of  life,  a  better  society, 
more  favorable  to  the  culture  of  virtue,  better 
adapted  to  produce  the  highest  types  of  man- 
hood and  womanhood,  in  which  shall  be  the 
minimum  of  injustice  and  oppression  and  wrong, 
in  which  the  Christian  influence  shall  be  a  larger 
power,  and  all  the  conditions  of  living  more 
favorable  to  Christian  culture.  Individualism  is 
the  dry  rot  of  the  Christian  life.  Each  Chris- 
tian is  not  a  whole,  but  a  unit  of  a  whole,  —  mem- 
bers in  particular,  but  the  body  of  Christ.  "  By 
one  spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body."  ^ 
The  strong  tendency  in  Christianity  has  been  to 
individualism.  A  reaction  has  come,  and  the 
touch  of  the  Christ  is  now  more  firmly  felt  upon 
the  general  life  of  the  day. 

The  time  must  come  when  the  world  will  be 
blessed  with  a  society  organized  upon  a  Chris- 
tian basis.     This  is  one  of  the  necessary  results 

1  John  vi.  39.  2  ibid.  iii.  35. 

3  1  Corinthians  xii.  13,  20,  27. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  67 

of  the  indwelling  of  Christ  in  the  life.  "The 
future  is  lighted  up  with  the  radiant  colors  of 
hope.  Strife  and  sorrow  shall  disappear.  Peace 
and  love  shall  reign  supreme.  The  dream  of 
poets,  the  lesson  of  priest  and  prophet,  the  in- 
spiration of  the  great  musician  "  shall  be  real- 
ized. "  And  as  we  gird  ourselves  up  for  the 
work  of  life,  we  may  look  forward  to  the  time 
when  in  the  truest  sense  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
He  shall  reign  forever  and  ever,  king  of  kings 
and  lord  of  lords."  ^ 

XIII.  —  Results  in  the  Creation  of  God. 

The  results  of  the  Christ's  work  appear,  fur- 
ther, in  the  creation  of  God. 

The  Christ's  work  has  no  limit  of  time  or 
place.  It  is  not  confined  to  this  earth  or  to 
the  physical  existence  of  man.  He  preaches  to 
spirits  in  prison  in  the  bondage  of  disobedience, 
wherever  they  are.  Grand  as  seems  the  work 
of  perfecting  the  individual  soul  or  of  renewing 
the  human  society  on  earth,  the  work  of  the 
Christ  is  infinitely  larger  and  grander  than  that. 
It  is  God's  saving  and  renewing  work  in  all  His 

1  Destiny  of  Man,  by  John  Fiske,  pp.  118,  119. 


68.  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

creation.  Christ  is  God  pushing  Himself  out  to 
the  farthest  bounds  of  His  creation ;  God  reach- 
ing and  permeating  all  life  ;  God  strengthening 
the  weak,  renewing  that  which  was  impaired, 
perfecting  the  imperfect,  completing  the  incom- 
plete, imparting  Himself  and  His  glory  to  all  the 
universe.  "  The  Father  loveth  the  Son,"  said 
John  the  Baptist,  "  and  hath  given  all  things 
into  His  hand."  ^  To  the  Christ  is  committed 
not  only  the  care  of  this  little  planet  and  its 
people,  but  of  all  the  creation  of  God.  We  can- 
not have  a  sufficient  reverence  for  the  Christ, 
unless  we  realize  how  much  God  has  intrusted 
to  Him  and  how  much  He  expects  of  Him.  He 
gave  all  things  into  His  hands.  "  All  that  the 
Father  hath,"  He  said,  "  are  mine."  "  All  that 
the  Father  giveth  to  me  shall  coihe  to  me ;  and 
him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  2  Nothing  less  than  this  perfect  comple- 
tion of  the  Christ's  work  was  in  the  minds  of 
the  Apostles.  Saint  John  says  that  "the  Son 
of  God  was  manifested  that  He  might  destroy 
the  works  of  the  devil."  ^  All  that  is  evil,  all 
that  is  opposed  to  God,  is  summed  up  and  per- 
sonified in  the  word  "  devil."  This  the  Christ 
1  John  iii.  35.  "  Ibid.  vi.  37.  s  i  John  iii.  8. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  69 

is  sent  to  destroy.  Saint  Paul  states  the  fact 
from  the  positive  side,  saying  that  God  had 
made  known  the  mystery  of  His  will,  which  He 
had  purposed  in  Himself,  "  that  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  fulness  of  times  He  might  gather  to- 
gether in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are 
in  heaven  and  which  are  on  earth."  ^  He  says, 
in  plain  and  unmistakable  terms,  "  the  creation 
itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage 
of  corruption  into  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the 
children  of  God  ;"  ^  and  he  gives  us  that  splendid 
picture  of  the  consummation,  which  has  not  been 
surpassed :  "  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  He 
[the  Christ]  shall  have  put  down  all  rule  and 
all  authority  and  power.  For  He  must  reign 
till  He  hath  put  all  enemies  under  His  feet.  .  .  . 
And  when  all  things  shall  be  subdued  unto  Him, 
then  shall  the  Son  also  Himself  be  subject 
unto  Him  that  put  all  things  under  Him, 
that  God  may  be  all  in  all."  ^  "  There  is  no 
power  to  come  forth  out  from  the  beginning  or 
the  end,  from  the  first  to  the  last,  with  intima- 
tions of  force  or  fear,  that  can  .  .  .  effect  the 

1  Ephesians  i.  9,  10. 

2  Romans  viii.  21  (Revised  Version). 

3  1  Corinthians  xv.  24-28. 


70  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

subversion  of  the  love  that  is  at  the  source  and 
centre  of  all  things,  or  the  disruption  of  the 
unity  that  is  in  the  will  of  God,  that  is  manifest- 
ing itself  in  the  reconciliation  of  all  things. 
The  Christ  says,  '  I  know  whence  I  came  and 
whither  I  go  ; '  and  again,  '  I  am  the  first  and  the 
last,  the  beginning  and  the  end ;  I  am  he  that 
was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come.'  "  ^  The  work  of  the 
Christ  is  not  complete,  it  cannot  be  ended,  it  will 
not  cease,  till  God  is  all  in  all.  All  things  are 
given  into  the  hands  of  the  beloved  Son,  and 
nothing  shall  be  lost.  Creation  shall  be  deliv- 
ered from  its  bondage.  The  glory  of  God, 
wliich  is  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  in  all  goodness 
and  righteousness  and  truth,  shall  reach  to  the 
outermost  bounds  of  the  universe,  and  God's 
will  in  Christ  be  done.  There  will  be  no  more 
rebellion,  no  more  disobedience,  no  more  weak- 
ness of  spirit  and  will,  no  more  evil,  no  more 
sin,  but  God  shall  have  given  His  life  through 
Christ  to  all.  At  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
shall  bow  with  reverence  and  glad  joy,  and  every 
tongue  make  haste  to  confess  that  the  Christ  is 
Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.^ 

1  Mulford's  Republic  of  God,  pp.  180,  181. 

2  Philippians  ii.  11. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  71 

Such  is  the  result  of  tlie  Christ's  work  in  the 
creation  of  God.  Is  it  not  blessed  that  behind 
the  solemn  and  oppressive  mystery  of  the  uni- 
verse lies  this  great  thought  ?  When  for  the 
moment  we  are  looking  off  into  the  darkness, 
hushed  by  the  silence,  feeling  the  mighty  gran- 
deur and  the  infinite  power  all  about  us,  crying 
out  perhaps  with  the  Psalmist,  "  What  is  man 
that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  "  —  when  it  all 
seems  too  great  for  our  understanding,  and  this 
great  theatre  of  life  and  action,  limited  only  by  the 
bounds  which  shut  in  the  stars,  oppresses  us  with 
a  sense  of  our  own  littleness  and  ignorance,  — 
is  it  not  blessed  that  then  out  from  the  darkness, 
out  from  the  fathomless  depths,  stream  rays  of 
glorious  light  ?  Is  it  not  blessed  that  there  are 
such  lines  of  illumination  across  all  this  mystery, 
and  we  are  assured  that  there  lies  in  the  sound- 
less depths  an  Infinite  love,  a  Father's  thought 
and  care  ?  No  greater  thought  can  possess  us,  and 
none  can  be  the  source  of  a  deeper  content  and 
peace,  than  that  the  Infinite  Being  wills  to  His 
creation  only  good.  Nothing  can  more  touch  the 
heart  and  lift  up  the  voice  in  glad  praise  than  to 
know  that  the  Almighty  Spirit  of  this  great  uni- 
verse is  swayed  by  love,  and  that  all  creation 


72  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

shall  share  the  blessings  of  that  love  through 
the  redeeming  and  renewing  work  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

XIY.  —  Tests  of  the  Christian  Life. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  we  are  treating  a 
practical  theme  in  a  practical  way.  We  want 
the  Christian  life.  We  want  to  use  every  means 
to  that  end  that  God  has  placed  in  our  hands. 
We  want  by  help  of  these  means  to  come  near 
to  Christ  and  to  grow  in  Christian  character. 
We  desire  that  results  appear.  Now,  there  are 
certain  tests  which  will  indicate  whether  or  not 
we  are  gaining  the  desired  end.  There  is  an 
inclination  to  neglect  the  tests.  The  beginnings 
of  religious  life  have  had  the  most  attention. 
Greater  effort  has  been  made  to  convert  sinners 
than  to  cultivate  saints.  More  energy  and  zeal 
have  been  thrown  into  the  work  of  conversion 
than  into  rigorous  training  in  the  Christian  way. 
It  has  been  at  the  cost  of  strength  and  life. 
Christian  work  has  too  often  stopped  at  a  point 
not  far  beyond  the  beginning.  If  tests  have 
been  applied,  it  has  not  been  in  the  wholesome 
way  indicated  by  Saint  John  in  his  First  Epistle. 
He  who  has  come  within  the  Christian  influence 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  73 

has  not  been  moved  to   inquire,   "How  much 
progress  am  I  making  in  Christian  life  ? "  but 
rather  to  ask,  "Am  I  saved?"     The  popular 
mind  has  dwelt  far  more  on  the  beginnings  than 
on  the  progress  of  the  Christian  life.     The  peo- 
ple have  been  more  concerned  about  conversion 
and   salvation   from   future   suffering  and   woe 
than  about  abiding  in  the  vine  and  bearing  much 
fruit.     This  has  been  a  natural  effect  of  the  doc- 
trine of  salvation   commonly  held,  and  of  the 
old  revival  system.     The  tests  of  Saint   John, 
which  will  be  stated,  have  not  been  sufficiently 
applied.     The  great  object  of  Christian  experi- 
ence, the  one  special  and  supreme  end,  in  the 
popular  way  of  thinking,  is  gained  at  the  very 
outset.     That  gained,  it  is   easy  to  lapse  back 
into  indifference,  or  to  make  Christian  disciples 
of  the  weakest  sort.  .  But  the  neglect  of  the  tests 
is  not  wholly  due  to  doctrinal  teaching.     It  is  a 
general  failing.     We  do  not  like  to  square  up 
our  conduct  with  the  highest  standards.     We  do 
not  like  to  trouble  ourselves  with  the  vigorous 
work  which  alone  can  show  where  we  stand  and 
what  we  are.     It  disturbs  our  ease  and  peace  to 
take  a  thorough-going  inventory  of  ourselves. 
We  ought  not  to  be  indifferent  to  the  develop- 


74  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

ment  of  Christian  character.  We  must  learn  to 
identify  this  work  with  salvation.  Salvation  is 
character-building.  There  are  tests  by  which 
we  may  know  whether  or  not  we  have  the  Chris- 
tian spirit  or  are  making  Christian  progress. 
There  are  connected  with  the  great  revivals  what 
are  called  inquiry-rooms.  A  frequent  question 
there  is,  "  Are  you  a  Christian  ? "  It  is  a  good 
question,  and  we  ought  to  be  able  to  give  some 
sensible  and  reasonable  answer.  But  the  answer 
should  not  signify  merely  a  profession  or  non- 
profession  of  faith.  It  should  tell  of  the  life. 
It  should  make  known  the  motives,  the  word, 
and  the  act.  It  should  search  the  heart,  and 
make  known  what  is  found.  It  should  go 
deep  into  the  soul,  and  inform  us  what  is  there. 
It  would  be  well  for  the  whole  Christian  world, 
all  church-members,  all  members  of  congrega- 
tions, to  hear  the  question,  "  Are  you  a  Chris- 
tian ? "  To  answer  it  intelligently  would  be  a 
good  healthy  exercise,  and  fruitful  perhaps  in 
good  results.  And  the  inquiry  cannot  be  better 
directed  than  by  the  Apostle  John.  He  says  in 
his  First  Epistle  :  "  Hereby  we  do  know  that  we 
know  Him,   if  we   heef   His   commakdments.^^  ^ 

1  1  John  ii.  3. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  75 

"  Whoso  keepeth  His  word,  in  him  verily  is  the 
love  of  God  perfected :  hereby  know  we  that  we 
are  in  Him.  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  Him 
ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked."  ^ 
These  would  be  good  words  for  the  inquiry- 
room.  These  are  good  words  for  the  Christian 
world.  These  are  tests  of  the  Christian  life.  Are 
we  following  Christ  ?  Are  we  walking  as  He 
walked  ?  Are  we  keeping  the  commandments  ? 
But  Saint  John  is  still  more  explicit.  We  ask, 
perhaps,  What  is  it  to  keep  the  commandments, 
what  is  it  to  follow  in  Christ's  footsteps  ?  One 
need  not  read  far  in  Saint  John's  Epistle  before 
he  will  get  full  information.  "  He  that  saith 
he  is  in  the  light,  and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in 
darkness  even  until  now.  He  that  loveth  his 
brother  abideth  in  the  light."  2  This  is  one  of 
the  easiest  and  most  quickly  applied  tests.  It 
is  equivalent  to  asking :  What  is  your  spirit 
toward  the  world  ?  Are  you  selfish  or  have  you 
the  spirit  of  Christ  ?  This  is  a  searching  ques- 
tion, a  thorough-going  test.  But  it  must  be 
applied.  Then  Saint  John  says  again:  "If  ye 
know  that  He  is  righteous,  ye  know  that  every 
one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of  Him."  ^ 

1  1  John  ii.  5,  6.        2  ibid,  n  9,  10.        a  ibid.  ii.  29. 


76  CHRIST  IN  THE- LIFE. 

Here  is  more  light.  We  distinguish  right  from 
wrong.  We  know  what  it  is  to  do  right.  Does 
one  want  to  know  whether  he  is  really  a  Chris- 
tian, let  him  ask  himself,  "  Do  I  love  righteous- 
ness always  and  everywhere,  in  every  form, 
in  every  shape  ?  Am  I  striving  with  all  my 
might  to  do  right  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge 
and  ability,  and  after  the  example  of  Christ  ? " 
"  In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest,  and 
the  children  of  the  devil :  whosoever  doeth  not 
righteousness  is  not  of  God,  neither  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother."  ^ 

But  we  want  to  push  the  inquiry  still  further. 
One  may  say,  "  I  love  my  brother  man."  But 
he  may  be  pertinently  asked  :  "  How  much  do 
you  love  your  fellow-men  ?  What  evidence  is 
there  of  your  love  ?  Is  it  a  sentiment  that  you 
enjoy  all  to  yourself  ?  Do  you  sit  by  your  com- 
fortable fireside  of  a  winter's  night,  and  weep 
mawkish  tears  over  those  who  are  shivering  in 
cold  garrets  ?  Do  you  enjoy  your  luxuries  and 
comforts,  and  content  yourself  with  wishing  that 
every  one  could  be  so  blessed  ?  "  If  so  one  loves 
his  fellow-men,  it  is  befitting  that  he  study  Saint 
John's  word.     "  Hereby  know  we  love,  because 

1  1  John  iii.  10. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  77 

He  laid  down  His  life  for  us  ;  and  we  ought  to 
lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren."  ^  How 
can  we  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren  ?  We 
are  not  called  to  the  stake  to  meet  a  martyr's 
death.  We  have  to  endure  no  persecution.  But 
some  words  of  Saint  John  signify  how  we  may 
lay  down  our  lives.  "  Whoso  hath  the  world's 
goods,  and  beholdeth  liis  brother  in  need,  and 
shutteth  up  his  compassion  from  him,  how  doth 
the  love  of  God  abide  in  him  ?  My  little  chil- 
dren, let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  with  the 
tongue  ;  but  in  deed  and  truth."  ^  If  we  see  our 
brother  have  need,  there  is  the  opportunity  and 
then  comes  the  test.  Saint  James  puts  it  even 
more  strongly  :  "  If  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked, 
and  destitute  of  daily  food,  and  one  of  you  say 
unto  them.  Depart  in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and 
filled  ;  notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not  those 
things  which  are  needful  to  the  body ;  what 
doth  it  profit?  "3  Jesus  said,  "  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them  ; "  '^  and  again,  "  Ye  are  my 
friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you."  ^ 
And  the  splendid  lesson  of  the  parable  of  the 
sheep  and  the  goats  must  not  be  forgotten.     Je- 

1  1  John  iii.  16.        2  ibid.  iii.  17, 18.        3  James  ii.  15, 16. 
4  Matthew  vii.  20.  ^  John  xv.  14. 


78  CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE. 

sus  there  said  that  the  righteous  inherited  the 
kingdom  of  heaven ;  that  it  was  prepared  for 
them  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  that  it 
was  theirs  because  "  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye 
gave  me  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in : 
naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  :  I  was  sick,  and  ye 
visited  me  :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto 
me."^  Astonished  beyond  measure,  the  right- 
eous say :  "  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hun- 
gred,  and  fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee 
drink  ?  When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took 
thee  in  ?  or  naked,  and  clothed  thee  ?  or  when 
saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto 
thee  ?  "  ^  And  the  answer  was,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  ^ 

Such  tests  are  ready  to  our  hand.  They  have 
been  neglected.  Life  has  not  been  brought  vig- 
orously to  the  Christian  standard.  It  has  been 
a  misfortune  that  salvation  has  in  the  popular 
mind  been  identified  with  conversion  rather 
than  with  growth  in  Christian  character,  and 
that  prevailing  doctrines  and  methods  have 
made   it   so   easy  to   get   the    impression   that 

1  Matthew  xxv.  35-40. 


CHRIST   IN  THE  LIFE.  79 

Christ's  work  in  and  for  us  was  completed  in 
the  emotional  experience  of  an  hour.  There  is 
need  of  emphatic  teaching  tliat  there  is  no  genu- 
ine Christian  life  without  constant  obedience, 
and  that  salvation  is  only  attained  by  the  growth 
of  the  soul  into  the  likeness  of  Christ.  The 
application  of  these  tests,  then,  is  commended. 
They  are  Christian  tests.  They  are  from  Paul 
and  Peter  and  James  and  John,  and  from  our 
Lord  Himself.  There  can  be  no  better  religious 
exercise  than  to  take  such  passages  as  have  been 
freely  quoted  in  this  section,  and  make  them 
daily  companions  of  the  thought,  and,  while  we 
inquire  after  the  welfare  of  our  souls,  let  them 
be  as  a  lamp  unto  our  feet  and  a  light  unto  our 
path.  Nothing  could  be  more  wholesome  for 
the  whole  Christian  world  than  to  pause  in  the 
midst  of  its  activities,  and  apply  these  tests  with 
conscientious  vigor  to  its  life. 

"  Every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and 
knoweth  God.  He  that  loveth  not  knoweth 
not  God ;  for  God  is  love."  ^  "  If  we  love 
one  another,  God  dwelleth  in  us,  and  His  love 
is  perfected  in  us."  ^  "  If  a  man  say,  I  love 
God,  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar :   for 

i  1  John  iv.  7,  8.  2  ibid.  iv.  12. 


80  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

he  that  loveth  not   his  brother  whom  he  hath 
seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not 


XY.  —  Incentives  to  the  Christian  Life. 

Are  there  any  statements  that  may  be  made, 
any  facts  that  may  be  presented,  as  incentives  to 
the  Christian  life  ?  Of  course  there  are  many 
good  reasons  why  one  ought  to  live  in  disciple- 
ship  of  Christ ;  but  waiving  the  question  of  duty 
we  ask  now.  What  is  there  to  invite  one  to  be- 
come a  follower  of  Christ  ? 

There  is  just  one  powerful  incentive,  and  that 
is  the  intrinsic  worth  and  attractiveness  of  the 
Christian  life  itself.  There  is  no  better  way  to 
move  quickly  and  deeply  those  not  yet  inter- 
ested in  the  Lord  Jesus  than  to  present  to  them 
the  Christian  life  as  it  is.  No  stronger  incentive 
can  be  held  forth. 

For  some  reason  there  is  a  wide-spread  false 
impression  with  regard  to  the  Christian  life. 
There  are  many  outside  the  Church  who  either 
have  no  idea  at  all  of  what  that  life  is,  or 
else  have  a  wretchedly  false  conception.  Many 
people  think  of  a  Christian  as  one  who  stoops 

1  1  John  iv.  20. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  81 

as  he  walks,  who  drawls  his  words,  seldom 
smiles,  is  punctiliously  pious,  and  terribly  ex- 
acting; whom  nobody  loves,  and  few  can  get 
along  with  ;  whose  family  do  not  enjoy  him  ;  who 
quarrels  with  his  church,  but  is  always  there, 
and  exhorts  and  prays.  Of  course  there  are 
such  pious  hypocrites,  whose  religion  is  less 
than  skin-deep ;  and  so  this  travesty  on  the 
Christian  character  has  taken  a  firm  hold  upon 
those  who  have  no  great  love  of  the  Church  or 
any  of  its  belongings,  and  through  them  spreads 
its  poison  and  does  a  vast  amount  of  harm.  It 
is  a  great  pity  that  there  is  such  an  idea  afloat. 
It  is  a  great  pity  that  in  so  many  cases  this  false 
idea  supersedes  all  others.  But  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  Christian  life  is  not  attractive  to  those 
who  thus  understand  it. 

Perhaps  the  Church  itself  is  partly  in  fault 
for  the  spread  of  this  false  idea.  Xot  that  the 
Church  has  ever  presented  such  a  type  of  Chris- 
tian character  as  its  ideal,  but  it  has  neglected 
to  show  up  in  its  true  colors  the  genuine  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  Christian  life.  The  emphasis  of 
its  teaching  has  been  elsewhere.  The  intrinsic 
merit  and  worth  of  the  Christian  character  have 
not  been  dwelt  upon.  The  Christian  experience 
6 


82  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

has  been  set  forth,  not  as  grand  and  desirable  in 
itself,  but  as  a  means  of  gaining  heaven.  It 
would  be  a  gross  slander  to  say  that  the  Church 
has  not  inculcated  a  high  morality,  and  sought 
to  make  the  life  conform  to  the  example  of 
Christ.  But  the  hope  of  heaven  has  been  the 
main  thought.  It  has  engrossed  the  popular 
ear ;  it  has  been  so  ingrained  into  theology, 
and  so  possessed  the  mind,  that  doubtless  to-day 
the  majority  of  devout  Christians  think  more 
about  their  religion  as  something  that  will  do 
them  a  great  good  after  they  die  than  as  some- 
thing to  make  them  fit  to  live  here  on  earth 
before  they  die,  and  are  more  anxious  about 
getting  to  heaven  than  concerned  to  love  their 
neighbors  as  themselves.  The  common  teaching 
has  strongly  tended  to  identify  the  emotional 
experience  of  an  hour  with  the  fulness  and  suffi- 
ciency of  the  Christian  life.  In  this  way  the 
religious  life  has  been  made  to  appear  something 
vastly  less  than  what  it  really  is.  Christ's  virtue 
and  manhood  have  not  been  held  up  before  men. 
A  feeling  grows  up  that  heaven  is  cheaply 
secured.  The  main  lines  of  Christian  teaching 
hitherto  followed  do  not,  as  they  ought,  connect 
every  act,   every  thought,  every  throb   of  the 


CHRIST  m  THE  LIFE.  83 

heart  with  the  life  that  Christ  would  have  us 
live,  but  tend  rather  to  produce  a  feeling  that 
the  lapses  of  the  moment,  the  selfishness  of 
to-day,  the  sin  by  the  fireside  or  in  the  counting- 
room  are  not  of  any  special  account,  because 
salvation  is  already  secured. 

Thus  the  Christian  life  has  not  been  strongly 
presented  to  men  for  its  own  sake  and  in  the 
light  of  its  intrinsic  worth.  When  it  is  so 
presented  its  attractiveness  will  appear.  No 
stronger,  no  higher  incentive  can  be  held  up 
before  one  not  yet  committed  to  Christ,  than 
just  to  picture  the  Christian  life  as  it  is.  We 
must  trust  in  the  simple  and  grand  worth  of 
the  life  itself.  We  must  publish  it  abroad  and 
glory  in  its  noble  attributes. 

The  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  the  Christian 
are  those  which  we  cannot  help  admiring.  We 
cannot  refuse  our  homage  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
or  to  His  genuine  and  faithful  followers.  The 
rankest  infidel  may  be  defied  to  withhold  his 
admiration  from  a  whole-souled  noble  Christian. 
The  secularist  himself  makes  up  his  ideal  of 
manhood  out  of  the  very  qualities  that  enter  into 
the  Christian  life.  God  never  made  anything 
more  grand  than  a  Christian  heart ;  and  every- 


84  CHRIST  IN   THE   LIFE. 

body  has  to  confess  it,  everj^body  feels  it.  There 
is  something  in  the  Christian  character  which 
we  cannot  refuse  to  see,  and,  seeing,  we  cannot 
refuse  to  love.  It  has  a  worth  and  glory  of  its 
own.  It  controls  and  directs  in  its  own  way, 
invisibly  'and  silently  and  yet  with  irresistible 
•power,  all  the  thought  and  love  of  man.  That 
character  permeating  the  life  of  the  ages  is  like 
the  great  magnetic  earth  current.  As  every 
magnetic  needle  must  swing  at  the  behest  of 
that  great  current,  and  though  it  vacillate  and 
quiver  under  many  shocks,  must  at  last  point  to 
the  pole ;  so  human  love  must  swing  toward  the 
Christian  life,  and  though  under  a  thousand 
shocks  it  vacillate  and  quiver  and  point  momen- 
tarily in  this  direction  or  that,  it  must  at  last 
come  to  its  rest  pointed  steadfastly  toward 
Christ. 

There  is  something  inherently  and  of  necessity 
attractive  in  the  Christian  life.  The  great  need 
is  to  make  men  know  that  life  in  its  real  worth. 
Show  them  how  grand  it  is,  and  how  poor  is  the 
life  that  has  not  the  Christian  quality.  We  have 
confidently,  continuously,  earnestly,  trustingly, 
and  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  to  present  the 
Christ  as  He  is,  to  make  Him  appear  before  the 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  85 

world  in  His  own  glory.  This  must  be  the 
sufficient  incentive  to  the  Christian  life.  And, 
be  it  deliberately  said,  if  this  cannot,  then  noth- 
ing can  attract  men  helpfully  to  Jesus  the  Christ, 
or  move  them  to  become  His  followers  and 
loyal  disciples. 

XYI.  —  Rewards  of  the  Christian  Life. 

Lastly,  the  Christian  experience  has  its  ample 
rewards.  These  rewards  are  not  to  be  urged  as 
supplying  motive  ;  they  crown  the  life.  He  who 
labors  for  them  loses  them.  If  the  rewards  be- 
come an  object  of  effort,  they  are  sure  to  be 
missed.  The  rewards  are  certain  states  of  the 
heart  and  mind,  bringing  peace  and  joy  ;  they 
are  the  results  of  genuine  Christian  life ;  they 
cannot  be  had  without  the  unclouded  Christian 
heart,  —  the  pure,  unselfish  motive.  He  who  is 
honest  because  honesty  is  the  best  policy  is  not 
an  honest  man.  The  very  statement  implies  a 
lack  of  genuine  honor.  If  dishonesty  were  the 
best  policy,  then  he  would  be  dishonest.  He 
who  does  his  neighbor  a  kindness  in  order  that 
he  may  go  home  and  ruminate  upon  his  own 
goodness  is  a  selfish  man,  and  is  by  his  selfish- 
ness debarred  from  the  rewards  of  the  Christian. 


86  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

He  who  conforms  to  certain  prescribed  condi- 
tions solely  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  a  happy 
hereafter  is  working  from  selfish  motives. 
Though  he  may  take  great  satisfaction  in  the 
thought  that  his  future  is  secure,  he  is  far  from 
having  the  true  Christian's  reward.  If  one 
would  know  the  nature  of  the  reward,  he  must 
come  into  intimacy  with  Jesus,  —  he  must  come 
into  that  frame  of  mind,  that  fulness  of  heart, 
which  will  enable  him  to  appreciate  the  beati- 
tudes of  our  Lord ;  he  must  know  something 
of  the  happiness  of  the  poor  in  spirit,  of  the 
meek,  of  those  who  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  of  the  merciful,  of  tlie  pure  in 
heart,  of  the  peacemakers,  of  those  who  are 
persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake.  The  great 
reward  is  the  possession  of  the  mind  and 
spirit  of  Christ. 

The  rewards  are  indicated  in  the  words  of 
Jesus  and  the  Apostles,  and  illustrated  by  the 
glimpses  that  we  have  of  their  own  inner  life. 
They  are  vastly  different  from  the  rewards  of 
ordinary  effort.  We  have  made  ourselves  large- 
ly dependent  upon  our  material  surroundings, 
and  demand  as  the  condition  of  happiness  favor- 
ing circumstances.    Jesus  and  the  Apostles  made 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LITE.  87 

themselves  largely  independent  of  material  sur- 
roundings, and  their  happiness  was  conditioned 
upon  no  outward  circumstance  whatever.  The 
Pharisees  sought  the  reward  of  right-doing  in 
the  enjoyment  of  a  certain  reputation  among  their 
fellows.  They  prayed  and  fasted  and  gave  alms 
to  be  seen  of  men.  Such  a  reward  was  very  un- 
certain and  unsatisfactory  ;  for  it  was  subject  to 
the  caprice  and  jealousy  of  the  whole  group  who 
were  aiming  to  establish  a  reputation  for  piety. 
Thieves  could  easily  steal  this  reputation,  and 
make  valueless  this  ostentatious  fasting  and 
praying  and  giving.  But  Jesus  speaks  of  the 
rewards  of  the  private  prayer,  of  unostentatious 
fasting,  of  giving  alms  with  the  right  hand  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  left.  These  are  the 
true  rewards ;  these  are  treasures  laid  up  in 
heaven,  "  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  cor- 
rupt, and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through 
nor  steal."  ^ 

We  get  a  good  idea  of  these  rewards  when  we 
look  upon  our  Lord  in  those  moments  when 
there  was  nothing  left  to  Him  but  Himself  and 
His  Father  in  heaven.  Then,  though  He  was 
human  and  suffered   most  intensely  in  a  very 

1  Matthew  vi.  20. 


88  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

human  way,  there  was  above  and  around  and 
beneath  and  through  His  sufferings  a  deep  peace 
and  joy.  In  all  the  final  struggle,  which  was  in- 
deed a  sore  trial  to  Him,  there  was  yet  a  calm,  a 
repose  of  spirit,  a  consciousness  of  God's  pres- 
ence, a  trust,  a  hope,  a  faith,  that  were  His  pos- 
sessions, His  own  all  the  time.  When  at  one  time 
the  burden  of  the  moment  seemed  too  heavy, 
and  He  inquired  within  Himself  whether  He 
should  say,  "  Father,  save  me  from  this  hour," 
He  met  this  thought  with  a  greater, — ''For  this 
cause  came  I  unto  this  hour."  ^  In  Gethsemane, 
at  the  trials,  on  Calvary,  there  is  evidence  of  th^ 
strength  of  His  life,  —  evidence  that  He  had 
treasures  in  His  heart  and  soul  of  which  He  was 
not  deprived  even  in  ignominy  and  death.  He 
found  His  sufficient  strength  and  joy  in  the  con- 
sciousness that  He  was  obeying  the  Divine  law 
and  carrying  out  the  Divine  will.  "  To  this  end 
was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the 
world,"  He  said  to  Pilate,  "  that  I  should  bear 
witness  unto  the  truth."  We  can  learn  something 
about  His  sublime  faith,  and  of  its  great  worth 
to  Him,  and  of  how  there  was  reward  for  His 
steadfastness  and  for  His  life  of  trial  and  suffer- 

1  John  xii.  27. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE.  89 

ing,  when  we  hear  Him  before  the  Roman  gov- 
ernor, a  prisoner  in  chains,  already  condemned, 
and  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  cross,  calmly 
saying,  "  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth 
my  voice."  ^ 

Saint  Paul,  it  must  be  briefly  said,  gloriously 
presents  to  us  the  splendid  rewards  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  To  be  familiar  with  his  record,  and 
to  supplement  that  record  with  his  epistles,  is 
to  know  what  strength  of  soul,  fulness  of  spirit, 
and  a  heart  that  loves  God  and  man,  can  do  for 
one  who  has  sacrificed  every  worldly  ambition 
dnd  gone  out  to  a  bitter  struggle,  to  a  life  of 
toil  and  danger  and  deprivation,  in  order  to 
establish  Christ's  truth  in  the  earth.  We  have 
only  to  know  of  his  toils  and  perils,  of  his  bit- 
ter contests  with  Jew  and  Pagan,  to  remember 
that  he  suffered  imprisonment  and  stripes,  was 
beaten  and  stoned,  and  then  to  turn  to  his 
words,  "  God  hath  revealed  unto  us  by  the  Spirit " 
"  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them 
that  love  Him,"  ^  to  hear  him  crying  out,  "  Oh 
the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  God  ; "  ^  to  hear  him  calmly 

1  John  xviii.  37.  ^  i  Corinthians  ii.  9,  10. 

3  Romans  xi.  33. 


90  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

asserting  that  lie  is  troubled  on  every  side  yet 
not  distressed,  perplexed  but  not  in  despair, 
persecuted  but  not  forsaken,  cast  down  but  not 
destroyed,  and  declaring  that  in  the  midst  of  all 
that  was  adverse  to  and  destructive  of  the  joys 
and  prosperity  of  the  outward  man,  he  was  re- 
newed and  strengthened  in  spirit  day  by  day,i 
and  that  for  this  cause  he  fainted  not,  and  that 
all  his  sufferings  seemed  light  because  he  was 
looking  upon  the  unseen  and  eternal  truths  of 
God,  and  living  for  them,  and  not  for  the  seen 
and  temporal,^  or,  as  we  might  say,  not  for 
the  express  and  only  purpose  of  being  well  fed, 
well  clothed,  well  housed,  and  provided  with 
all  the  material  comforts  that  wealth  can  buy, 
—  we  have  only  to  know  and  appreciate  these 
facts  in  Saint  Paul's  life  to  be  amply  informed 
with  regard  to  the  rewards  of  the  Christian 
experience. 

We  are  not  offered  wealth  nor  any  material 
thing,  but  something  far  more  substantial  and 
enduring.  Wealth  cannot  give  it  to  us,  nor 
can  wealth  take  it  away  when  once  it  is  ours. 
Calamity  and  sorrow  do  not  furnish  it,  nor  can 
calamity  and  sorrow  deprive  us  of  it.  It  is  that 
1  2  Corinthians,  iv.  8,  9, 16.  «  ibid.  17, 18. 


CHRIST  IN   THE  LIFE.  91 

breadth  and  depth  of  spirit  and  life  whicli  is 
the  one  constant  force  within  us  through  every 
experience.  To  gain  that  is  to  be  in  fellowship 
with  Christ,  and  to  have  a  reward  above  all 
price. 

Conclusion. 

We  have  written  of  Christ  in  the  Life  :  of  the 
reality  of  Christ ;  of  what  hinders  His  work  in 
our  hearts  and  in  the  world ;  of  what  helps  us 
to  receive  His  spirit  and  to  live  by  it;  of  our 
close  and  brotherly  relation  with  our  Lord, 
whereby  we  feel  the  touch  of  His  spirit  with 
ours ;  of  Christian  growth  unto  the  fulness  of 
His  stature ;  of  the  results  of  the  Redeemer's 
work ;  of  the  tests  of  the  Christian  life ;  of  its 
incentives,  and  of  its  rewards. 

One  question  remains  to  be  asked.  To  it  each 
one  should  give  answer.  Not  to  answer  is  al- 
most as  much  a  sin  as  to  answer  wrongly.  The 
question  is  this :  Will  you  learn  of  Christ  and 
have  Him  in  your  life  ?  Upon  our  answer  to 
that  question  depends  the  worth  of  our  lives  to 
ourselves  and  to  the  world.  These  are  days 
when  one  needs  to  live  with  eyes  wide  open.  A 
hundred  catchpenny  thoughts  and  notions  are 


92  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

afloat.  We  are  beset  with  a  style  of  life  that 
puts  spurs  to  false  ambitions.  The  scales  in 
which  we  weigh  values  are  out  of  gear.  They 
are  telling  off  to  the  world  that  nothing  has 
worth  that  does  not  clink  in  the  balance.  They 
have  been  so  tampered  with  that  they  do  not 
indicate  the  worth  of  righteousness  and  truth 
and  love.  In  the  midst  of  the  error  and  sin  of 
the  world  there  is  just  one  saving  power,  —  tlie 
divine  life  in  us,  and  in  us  as  it  ivas  in  Christ. 
That  is  an  everlasting  fact,  —  "  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  forever."  "  This  is  the  record, 
that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and  this 
life  is  in  His  Son."  ^  That  fact  no  argument  has 
touched.  The  storms  of  severest  criticism  have 
beat  upon  it,  but  it  has  stood.  The  outposts  of 
the  Christian  position  have  been  many  times 
built  upon  the  sands,  and  the  floods  of  criticism 
have  come,  and  the  winds  of  earnest  thought 
have  blown,  and  the  outworks  have  fallen ;  but 
the  citadel,  the  strong  fortress  of  our  Lord,  the 
everlasting  fact  that  the  divine  life  as  it  is  in 
Christ  is  the  world's  saving  power,  has  stood 
unshaken,  founded  on  the  rock.  This  fortress 
needs  no  defence.  It  wants  nothing  at  our 
1  1  John  V.  11. 


CHRIST  IN  THE   LIFE.  93 

hands.  It  is  our  defence,  our  stronghold.  Its 
strength  may  become  our  strength.  It  will  fur- 
nish the  vantage-ground  of  our  life. 

The  times  demand  earnest  living.  The  youth 
of  to-day  —  the  young  men  and  young  women, 
who  are  taking  their  places  as  citizens,  as  busi- 
ness men,  as  guardians  of  homes ;  who  are 
coming  on  to  fill  the  innumerable  places  in  the 
schools,  in  the  shops,  in  the  professions,  in 
every  calling  and  every  station  of  life  —  have 
glorious  opportunities  before  them,  and  serious 
duties  and  responsibilities  are  laid  upon  them. 
If  they  yield  to  the  temptations  that  wait  to  de- 
ceive and  entrap  them,  if  they  are  drawn  into 
the  purely  mercenary  and  selfish  style  of  life 
or  into  the  ways  of  passion  and  sin,  they  may 
know  that  they  are  spreading  destruction  all 
about.  They  are  w^orking  evil  upon  themselves ; 
they  are  doing  harm  to  their  neighbors  and  to 
the  world. 

While,  if  their  eyes  are  opened  to  see,  and  they 
learn  to  note  how  hideous  are  passion  and  sin, 
into  what  awfulness  of  degradation  the  trans- 
gression of  the  law  of  God  sinks  its  victims, 
how  selfishness  is  the  handmaid  of  sin,  and  how 
the  mercenary  spirit  eats  out  the  best  part  of 


94  CHRIST  IN  THE  LIFE. 

the  soul,  then  are  they  in  such  mood  as  will 
bring  them  near  to  Christ.  And  if,  further,  they 
take  Christ  into  their  hearts  and  carry  the 
Christian  spirit  into  trade,  into  the  home,  into 
citizenship,  everywhere  into  all  the  walks 
and  avenues  of  life,  then  are  they  ministering 
to  their  own  highest  welfare,  giving  help  and 
life  to  the  world,  establishing  God's  kingdom 
and  doing  His  will  in  earth  as  it  is  done  in 
heaven. 


Cambridge :  John  Wilson  &  Son,  University  Press 


on  Ttieological  Semin.iry-Speer  Libri 


1    1012  01144  7077 


